The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining recent medical records and scheduling VA examinations to evaluate his lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The decision was not about service connection but rather the evaluation of an existing condition. The case needs further examination and evidence collection before a determination can be made.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, residual scar from paraganglioma removal
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2004
- Citation
- 0406549
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,547 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0406549.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral syndrome have been granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The lumbar spine disability has also been granted but the effective date is not specified.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for various conditions, including allergic rhinitis, sleep apnea, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, lower extremity radiculopathies, and left lower extremity radiculopathy with foot drop. The issues include determining if these conditions are related to service or other factors.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment since June 30, 2018. The Board has granted a TDIU effective July 1, 2018.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is denied as there was no evidence of a current disability.,Left ear hearing loss is granted, with the condition being service-connected due to exposure during active duty and worsening over time.,Service connection for reflux esophagitis with hiatal hernia is granted based on symptoms that began in-service and continue post-service.,Service connection for stenosis of the cervical spine is granted as it was likely caused by service, including combat duties.,Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is granted due to continuity of symptomatology since service.,Chronic fatigue syndrome is granted based on symptoms that began in-service and continue post-service.
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