The Board remands the claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar spine disability and earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy due to a duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The November 2023 examination reports are inadequate as they do not reflect the ameliorative effects of medication, which is required under Jones v. Shinseki, and the examiner's opinion on radiculopathy lacks sufficient rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal stenosis and spondylosis (lumbar spine disability), right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy (femoral nerve), left lower extremity (LLE) radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), left lower extremity (LLE) radiculopathy (femoral nerve)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25105402
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25105402.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date, a higher initial rating for his mental health condition, and increased ratings for his right ankle, back, and nerve conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date, a higher initial rating for his mental health condition, and increased ratings for his right ankle, back, and nerve conditions.
- Partly granted
The veteran is granted an effective date of December 29, 2020 for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance. The claims for earlier effective dates for lumbar spine DDD with IVDS and LLE radiculopathy are dismissed and denied respectively.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for radiculopathy affecting the left lower extremity and a left ankle condition were granted. The claim for a higher disability rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy was remanded.
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