The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected back disability is being remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of staged ratings, as well as separate ratings for bowel and bladder impairment.
The deciding factor: The case requires further examination and evidence review to determine the current severity of the Veteran's back disorder and any associated bowel and bladder dysfunction.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0916490
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 0916490.
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 has granted service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease and right lower extremity radiculopathy affecting the sciatic nerve, effective January 12, 2024. Attorney fees are eligible based on past due benefits awarded in this decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, headaches, an acquired psychiatric disorder (other specified trauma and stressor related disorder and PTSD), and Parkinson's disease. The conditions are presumed to be due to exposure in service.,Service connection is established for all four claimed conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied due to lack of evidence supporting the conditions prior to August 4, 2021.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability or in-service incurrence and concluding that the Veteran's back condition did not manifest during service.
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