The Board has remanded the case for further development due to changes in rating criteria and need for updated medical records.
The deciding factor: Changes in VA's rating criteria require review of the veteran's lumbar spine disability under revised criteria, necessitating additional examination and evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with disc disease, lumbosacral spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0421688
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 0421688.
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 Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal because it was not timely filed, and no good cause for delay was provided.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disability was rated at 40 percent from October 20, 1981 to October 28, 2011. Effective May 10, 2008, the Veteran is granted a TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for lumbar strain with disc disease to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically to obtain workman's compensation records and an adequate medical opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbosacral spondylolisthesis was evaluated at a 10 percent disability rating, as the evidence did not meet criteria for higher ratings. The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms and range of motion were consistent with a 10 percent rating.
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