The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further consideration of his claim for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on service-connected disabilities. The case will be referred to the Director, Compensation Service, for extraschedular consideration.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected right ankle and lumbar spine disabilities impact his ability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of fracture of the talus, right ankle, DJD of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2015
- Citation
- 1528097
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 1528097.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including DJD of the lumbar spine, right shoulder, bilateral sciatic nerve radiculopathy, and peripheral neuropathy, combined, prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education, skills, training, and work history. Effective December 7, 2022, he is granted TDIU.
- Denied
The Veteran's combined evaluation for his service-connected disabilities did not change after the February 2021 rating decision, so he is denied retroactive payment.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (including PTSD, asthma, DJD of the lumbar spine, tinnitus, radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, bilateral hearing loss, and migraines) render him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board granted a TDIU based on this finding.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for headaches as secondary to service-connected DJD of the lumbar spine, and entitlement to SMC at the housebound prior to July 18, 2014, and based on the need for aid and attendance. The remand is due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's headaches and his service-connected DJD of the lumbar spine.
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