The Board remands the issue of service connection for residuals of a low back injury to ensure that VA obtains a medical examination and opinion addressing whether the veteran's low back disability is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: There is evidence of an in-service event, current disability, and a possible association between the two, but insufficient competent medical evidence exists to make a decision on the claim. The Board must remand for additional development.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a low back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2009
- Citation
- 0900096
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 195 · Granted: 24% (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 0900096.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to fully and fairly consider the Veteran's claims, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling him for examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current disabilities are related to service and to rate his left knee disability.
- Granted
The Board finds that the veteran's current back disability is more likely than not due to in-service manifestations and grants service connection.
- Partly granted
The veteran's service connection for residuals of a low back injury was granted, while the claims for an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for anxiety disorder with somatic features and for service connection for residuals of a hip injury were denied.
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.