The Board remanded the veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease with spinal fusion and stenosis, and right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy. The Board identified a duty-to-assist error and ordered additional evidence to be gathered.
The deciding factor: The Board found a duty-to-assist error that occurred prior to the September 2023 rating decision on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease with spinal fusion and stenosis, right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25000708
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 A25000708.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of February 24, 2023 for the Veteran's 20% ratings for left and right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy and his entitlement to TDIU.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's original disability ratings of 40 percent for his right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, effective April 1, 2021.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation throughout the appeal period, and therefore, his claim for TDIU is denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for various rating and service connection claims due to the Veteran's death.
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