The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to consider relevant medical records and the Veteran's statements regarding his back pain prior to 2002. Additional VA and private treatment records are needed, as well as an examination of the Veteran's low back.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on insufficient evidence considering the Veteran's history of back complaints before 2002 and relevant medical records not reviewed by the VA clinician who provided a December 2007 opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2010
- Citation
- 1031524
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 1031524.
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 determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher level of SMC was denied as he does not meet the criteria for any additional levels of SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
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