Sciatica Could Add 20% to Your VA Back Rating

Yes - if you are rated for your back, the sciatica running down your leg is a separate VA rating under Diagnostic Code 8520, and each leg is evaluated on its own. Most veterans never claim it.

Radiculopathy is the nerve pain a worn disc causes when it pinches the nerve root in your spine, and under 38 CFR 3.310 it connects as secondary to a service-connected back - a separate evaluation from the spine’s range-of-motion rating, not pyramiding. With Professor Erica, Beth, Fenrir, and Emma, we walk through the five severity brackets of DC 8520, why the left leg and right leg each get their own rating, the 38 CFR 4.26 bilateral factor that boosts a two-leg claim, the C&P neurological exam findings that prove the nerve damage, and the diabetes look-alike trap that quietly sinks claims when the cause is labeled wrong.

In this video you will learn:

• What radiculopathy is and why it is rated apart from the back itself
• The DC 8520 brackets: mild 10%, moderate 20%, moderately severe 40%, severe 60%, complete 80%
• Why each lower extremity is rated separately, so bilateral radiculopathy stacks
• How the 38 CFR 4.26 bilateral factor adds a bonus when both legs are involved
• The dermatome, strength, reflex, and EMG findings a C&P exam must record
• The 2026 monthly dollar amounts a 10% or 20% leg rating actually pays
• Why naming the cause as secondary to the back, not diabetes, protects your nexus