The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for various service-connected disabilities, including lumbar degenerative disc disease and radiculopathies, as well as tinnitus, due to inadequate VA examinations.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors and obtain new examinations that consider the impact of flare-ups on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar degenerative disc disease, Left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), Left lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral nerve), Left lower extremity radiculopathy (external cutaneous nerve of thigh), Left lower extremity radiculopathy (ilio-inguinal nerve), Right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25087637
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 964 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25087637.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
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