The Board remanded the veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve in both lower extremities. The Board found that a pre-decisional duty to assist error occurred because the VA examiner did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
The deciding factor: The Board found a pre-decisional duty to assist error because the VA examiner did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Claimed conditions
- radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve of the right lower extremity, radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25004784
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · Granted: 24% (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 A25004784.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration, including a VA examination to address the Veteran's symptoms and their impact on his service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating for compensation based upon individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities effective January 3, 2014.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left elbow condition, radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve in both lower extremities as secondary to lumbosacral strain, and increased ratings for lumbosacral strain and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of the 20% rating for the back disability and radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve of the right lower extremity, but denied increased ratings for other conditions.
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