The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and due process requirements, including obtaining VA outpatient treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his employability.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as there are outstanding VA outpatient treatment records and the most recent VA examination did not provide an opinion regarding the Veteran's employability based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder with depressive features, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2009
- Citation
- 0947278
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 0947278.
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 Veteran's hypertension, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral syndrome have been granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The lumbar spine disability has also been granted but the effective date is not specified.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for various conditions, including allergic rhinitis, sleep apnea, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, lower extremity radiculopathies, and left lower extremity radiculopathy with foot drop. The issues include determining if these conditions are related to service or other factors.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a mood disorder with depressive features was granted, effective March 23, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment since June 30, 2018. The Board has granted a TDIU effective July 1, 2018.
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