The Board granted service connection for left and right lower sciatic radiculopathy with an effective date of May 12, 2009.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's initial claim for a low back disability reasonably encompassed claims for bilateral lower sciatic radiculopathy based on the evidence showing that his back pain and radiculopathy symptoms were discussed together in treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower sciatic radiculopathy, right lower sciatic radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- December 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25111027
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 766 · Granted: 40% (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 A25111027.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal regarding severance of service connection for right and left lower sciatic radiculopathy and an increased rating for lumbosacral DDD during a hearing, and these issues are dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for lumbosacral strain, lumbosacral degenerative disc and joint disease and L3-L4 central spinal canal narrowing, left lower femoral radiculopathy, left lower sciatic radiculopathy, and right lower sciatic radiculopathy due to inconsistencies in the VA examination reports.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is granted a TDIU and DEA benefits effective March 7, 2012. The Board finds the earlier effective dates for these benefits are not warranted due to lack of evidence showing he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to that date.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection and increased ratings were granted. Service connection was established for right lower sciatic radiculopathy, but not for other conditions due to lack of evidence supporting exposure to toxic substances. Increased ratings were denied for right ear hearing loss, left knee anterior cruciate ligament partial tear, left knee instability, right fibula fracture (claimed as right ankle condition), and degenerative arthritis of the spine.
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