The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbosacral strain, bilateral knee arthralgia, and bilateral heel pain.
The deciding factor: The current evaluation does not meet the criteria for increased evaluations as per the previous and amended criteria for rating intervertebral disc syndrome under 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5293 (2003).
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, left knee arthralgia, right knee arthralgia, bilateral heel pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2004
- Citation
- 0413589
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 0413589.
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 service connection for lumbosacral strain and lumbar radicopathy, right side, secondary to the lumbosacral strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, with the exception of remanding certain issues.
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