The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain updated medical records and for a VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and S1 radiculopathy with weakness of the right foot dorsiflexors.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's most recent VA examinations are nearly four years old and do not provide sufficient detail for a fully informed evaluation of his service-connected disabilities under the applicable rating criteria. Additionally, there is no current medical evidence addressing his symptoms related to his degenerative joint disease of the right first metatarsophalangeal joint.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back scar, status post lumbar discectomy, degenerative joint disease of the right first metatarsophalangeal joint, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, S1 radiculopathy with weakness of the right foot dorsiflexors
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2012
- Citation
- 1220416
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 1220416.
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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