The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for further development due to incomplete service personnel records and potential workman's compensation records, as well as a need for an addendum VA medical opinion considering the Veteran's statements about his back history.
The deciding factor: The decision is being remanded because there are gaps in the record regarding the Veteran's service treatment records and any relevant workman's compensation records. Additionally, a new VA medical opinion is needed to consider the Veteran's testimony about his continuous low back symptoms since his in-service injury.
- 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
- December 23, 2014
- Citation
- 1456227
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 1456227.
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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