The Veteran is seeking DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for additional low back disability resulting from a VA surgical procedure in August 2002. The Board has determined that further development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for an examination, is necessary to properly adjudicate the claim.
The deciding factor: The Veteran underwent surgery at VA in 2002 for chronic low back pain and a protruding disc at L2-L3. He now contends that he suffered additional disability as a result of the procedure, which he alleges was performed incorrectly. The Board finds that further development is needed to determine if any such disability exists and whether it was proximately caused by VA carelessness or negligence.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbosacral strain, status post L2-L3 diskectomy and right L2-L3 hemilectomy with microdiskectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2010
- Citation
- 1010500
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 1010500.
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 appeal for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic lumbosacral strain and service connection for right leg condition was dismissed due to an impermissible concurrent election of review options.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for chronic lumbosacral strain and service connection for cervical, left ankle, right ankle, right shoulder, and left shoulder conditions to ensure compliance with due process.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lumbosacral strain and denied service connection for left knee, right knee, left shoulder, right shoulder, and right ear hearing loss conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted revision of the January 2007 rating decision based on clear and unmistakable error (CUE) to reflect a 10 percent disability rating for service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain, effective March 30, 2004.
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