The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any low back disorder, to include left lower extremity radiculopathy. The Veteran's service connection claim will be reconsidered after this additional development.
The deciding factor: The opinion provided by the April 2010 VA examiner is inadequate for rating purposes as it does not address the direct theory of entitlement and fails to clarify whether the residuals from a service-connected fracture cause or aggravate current back pathology.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder with radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2016
- Citation
- 1601551
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 1601551.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection for residuals of heat exhaustion, as there is no medical evidence linking his current symptoms to his period of active duty in August 2006. The Board also found that there is insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between his low back disorder and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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