The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA spine examination and consideration of the revised rating criteria.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as there has been a change in the law affecting all spinal disabilities that needs to be considered.
- Claimed conditions
- limitation of motion of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2004
- Citation
- 0400665
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0400665.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 40 percent for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, effective from September 23, 2019. The decision found that this rating was appropriate due to additional loss of motion during flare-ups.
- Denied
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus is rated at 20 percent, effective April 1, 2011. The RO denied an increased rating for his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Denied
The Veteran is not eligible for a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund as his service was in the Regular Army of the United States, and he already receives VA disability compensation.
- Granted
The Veteran's limitation of motion of the lumbar spine has not been manifested by forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less, nor have incapacitating episodes been shown. Therefore, an evaluation in excess of 20 percent is not warranted.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.