The appeal for ratings in excess of 40 percent and 20 percent for the veteran's back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy was dismissed due to improper filing of an appeal.
The deciding factor: The March 2024 VA Form 10182 did not properly identify the Board decision being appealed, thus it was dismissed under Encarnacion v. McDonough, 36 Vet. App. 194 (2023).
- Claimed conditions
- status/post L5-S1 hemilaminectomy and discectomy chronic lower back pain with degenerative disc disease (DDD), radiculopathy, left lower extremity (LLE), radiculopathy, right lower extremity (RLE)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25085581
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (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 A25085581.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and associated radiculopathy, except for a 40 percent rating from April 30, 2008, to October 26, 2010.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 60 percent for left total knee replacement is dismissed.,An effective date prior to April 1, 2011, for the award of TDIU and eligibility to DEA under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 is denied.,The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee instability from October 12, 2010 to April 1, 2011 is denied.,An effective date prior to April 1, 2011, for the award of lumbar spine disability is denied.,A rating in excess of 10 percent for LLE peripheral neuropathy and RLE peripheral neuropathy is denied.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.