The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 50 percent effective February 13, 2021. His left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy is rated at 80 percent from April 21, 2013 to February 12, 2021. The Veteran's TDIU claim has an earlier effective date of April 21, 2013.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical evaluations demonstrated the Veteran's low back disability symptoms including inability to stand up straight, bending to reach the floor, chronic forward posture, decreased vision due to altered posture, limitation in ambulating with more than a 20-25 degree of flexion, and pain on movement. The left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy also caused motor impairment, weakness, and gait issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease status post surgeries, Degenerative arthritis of the spine, Levoscoliosis, lumbar spine (low back disability), Left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- April 27, 2026
- Citation
- A26038779
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 A26038779.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, right knee degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right ankle degenerative arthritis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis.
- Granted
The Veteran's back condition is granted an increased disability rating of 40 percent, but no higher. The claims for service connection for LLE and RLE radiculopathies are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbar spine, left knee, and right knee disabilities on a direct basis, finding that these conditions began during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability is rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds that it warrants a rating of 40 percent throughout the appeal period.,Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability is granted. The Veteran's claim for an initial rating will be remanded for further evaluation.
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