The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA neurological examination to assess any neurological abnormalities or radiculopathy associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The May 2009 Board remand instructions were not substantially complied with due to deficiencies in the July 2009 VA examination report, which failed to fully conduct a neurological examination and interpret EMG results.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2013
- Citation
- 1300653
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 1300653.
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 claims for increased disability ratings were denied as he failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause, and the evidence did not show an increase in severity of his service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to deficiencies in the VA examinations and missing records.
- Granted
The Veteran's headaches are rated at 30 percent effective December 11, 2019. The Veteran's degenerative disc disease L5-S1 is currently rated at 20 percent. Separate ratings of 20 percent each are granted for left and right lower extremity radiculopathies.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with remand directives, specifically regarding obtaining a retrospective medical opinion for the period from March 7, 2011 to April 17, 2017.
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