The Veteran's service-connected traumatic arthritis of the spine with degenerative disc disease, IVDS, spinal stenosis, and disc herniation is rated at 40 percent. The effective date for this rating remains pending as it was granted in a September 2023 decision.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's traumatic arthritis of the spine with degenerative disc disease, IVDS, spinal stenosis, and disc herniation does not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of unfavorable ankylosis or functional equivalent thereof.
- Claimed conditions
- radiculopathy of the left lower extremity sciatic nerve, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 27, 2026
- Citation
- A26038849
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 A26038849.
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 radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremity sciatic nerve as secondary to service-connected lumbar disability, and for left knee strain. The Veteran's claims are remanded for additional examinations and opinions regarding chronic fatigue with memory loss (CFS) and right knee disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for ratings in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremity sciatic and femoral nerves due to a duty to assist error regarding private treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that the evidence supported a moderate incomplete paralysis rating.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of July 30, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension and dismissed claims for earlier effective dates for other conditions.
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