The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to evaluate his service-connected lumbar spine disorder and fracture of the ramus. The claims will be readjudicated based on the new rating criteria.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence and information are needed to properly evaluate the veteran's claims under the revised rating criteria for spine disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the left shoulder, left arm, both legs
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2004
- Citation
- 0415262
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 832 · Granted: 18% (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 0415262.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant, and no substitute has been filed within the required timeframe.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted higher levels of Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) at rates based on loss of use of both hands and need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and conducting examinations to assess the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The TDIU claim will be reconsidered based on this additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to conflicting medical opinions and incomplete examination reports. The Veteran's left arm and shoulder conditions are being reviewed, along with his claim for SMC based on need for regular aid and attendance.
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