The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain and a VA general medical examination to determine whether he is unemployable due to his disabilities. The claims will be readjudicated after these actions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has asserted that his back disability has increased in severity since his last VA spine examination, and he has indicated that he has been unemployed due to his service-connected disabilities for the past two years. These assertions require additional development to determine the current status of his service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain and whether he is unemployable.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2012
- Citation
- 1235634
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 1235634.
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 Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted the restoration of entitlement to total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA), effective May 1, 2020. The decision was made due to procedural errors in the previous termination decisions.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial disability ratings for chronic lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, and depression have been granted. The Veteran also received a TDIU effective from January 21, 2009.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in fulfilling its duty to assist, specifically regarding obtaining private treatment records from Dr. R and a retrospective medical opinion.
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