The Board remands the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for IVDS with DDD of the lumbar spine and in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities femoral and sciatic nerves, as well as the TDIU claim, to obtain additional evidence.
The deciding factor: The examination reports did not address the ameliorative effects of medication on the Veteran's symptoms, making them inadequate for rating purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- Intervertebral Disc Syndrome (IVDS) with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity femoral nerve, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity sciatic nerve, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity femoral nerve, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25084589
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · Granted: 23% (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 A25084589.
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 Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than January 18, 2022, for the grant of initial 20 percent ratings for his low back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy were denied.,The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than January 18, 2022, for the grant of initial 20 percent ratings for his right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy and bilateral lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy were denied.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's disability ratings for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, including sciatic and femoral nerves, to their original levels on July 1, 2020.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for radiculopathy of the right upper and lower extremities but denied an increased rating for functional abdominal pain syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and associated radiculopathy due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the severity of the conditions during flare-ups and after repetitive use, discounting the ameliorative effects of medications.
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