The Board has determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the appellant's claim for an increased disability evaluation for her service-connected low back pain and lumbar myositis. The case is REMANDED for obtaining VAMC treatment records from October 2006 to the present, scheduling a new VA spine examination, and readjudicating the claim.
The deciding factor: The appellant's current disability rating of 20 percent does not reflect the severity of her lumbar spine disability as she asserts. The duty to assist includes obtaining all available treatment records and providing a thorough examination to determine the current level of severity of her service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- low back pain, lumbar myositis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2010
- Citation
- 1000952
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 1000952.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and initial ratings were dismissed due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) being filed more than one year after the November 2022 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for GERD, anxiety, and hypertension. The low back pain issue was remanded.
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