Citation Nr: 18155783 Decision Date: 12/06/18 Archive Date: 12/06/18 DOCKET NO. 16-41 594 DATE: December 6, 2018 ORDER Service connection for right lower radiculopathy is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s right lower radiculopathy is due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for establishing service connection for right lower radiculopathy have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served in the U.S. Army from July 1979 to April 2000. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran filed a notice of disagreement (NOD) with the rating decision in December 2014. A statement of the case (SOC) was issued in July 2016, and the Veteran perfected his appeal in August 2016. The Veteran testified before the undersigned via videoconference at a hearing in December 2016. A transcript of the hearing is of record. This appeal originally concerned the Veteran’s claim of service connection for bilateral lower radiculopathy. Service connection for left lower radiculopathy associated with wedging, lumbosacral spine with degenerative disc disease was granted in a July 2016 rating decision. That determination by a Decision Review Officer was a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal for the left lower extremity, and the appeal record as to that issue is closed. Therefore, the Board no longer has jurisdiction over the issue of service connection for left lower radiculopathy, and the issue now before the Board only concerns the Veteran’s claim of service connection for right lower radiculopathy. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Service connection may also be granted on a secondary basis for disability that is proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Service connection on a secondary basis may not be granted without medical evidence of a current disability and medical evidence of a nexus between the current disability and a service-connected disability. See Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512-514 (1998); see also Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 488 (1995) (en banc). The Veteran contends that he is entitled to service connection for right lower radiculopathy, which he asserts is secondary to his already service-connected lumbar spine disability. Service connection was granted in an October 2004 rating decision for wedging, lumbosacral spine with degenerative disc disease in an October 2004 rating decision. At a private medical examination at Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute in December 2016, the examiner diagnosed the Veteran with bilateral lumbar radiculopathy. Thus, the Board acknowledges that the Veteran has a current disability of right lower radiculopathy. The December 2016 private examiner diagnosed the Veteran with both bilateral lumbar radiculopathy and chronic bilateral low back pain with bilateral sciatica. The examiner noted that the Veteran’s MRIs of the spine have shown a central disc protrusion and impingement of the L4-L5 nerve root. At a private medical examination at University Hospitals Middlefield Medical Center in August 2016, the Veteran was diagnosed with chronic lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar disc degeneration, and the examiner stated that there was a greater than 50% certainty that the Veteran’s right-side radiculopathy is related to his military service. The examiner explained that the Veteran had no other injuries since discharge; and he has not been employed in a type of work that would lead to back problems since discharge. At the Veteran’s July 2016 VA examination where he was diagnosed with left lower radiculopathy, the examiner determined that it was more likely than not that the Veteran’s left lower radiculopathy was directly related to his service-connected lumbosacral degenerative disc disease. The Veteran complains of bilateral low back pain that radiates down to both of his lower extremities. The pain is reported to be sharp in character, going as high as 7 or 8 out of 10 on a pain scale. The Veteran stated that certain positions and maneuvers would trigger and aggravate the pain. He has difficulty exercising, running, or walking. His legs give way, and he feels out of balance when he walks. Based on the foregoing evidence, service connection for right lower radiculopathy is warranted in this case. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310. Therefore, the Veteran’s claim of service connection for right lower radiculopathy is granted. In so reaching that conclusion, the Board has appropriately applied the benefit of the doubt doctrine. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Ortiz v. Principi, 274 F.3d 1361, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55-56 (1990). JAMES G. REINHART Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Dawn A. Leung, Associate Counsel