The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for her lumbar spine disability is being remanded to the Board of Veterans' Appeals for further development, including consideration of extraschedular evaluation due to marked interference with employment and frequent periods of hospitalization.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability has resulted in marked interference with employment and frequent periods of hospitalization, which may warrant an extraschedular rating under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc and joint disease of the lumbar spine with bilateral sacroiliac sclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- February 22, 2016
- Citation
- 1606599
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 1606599.
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 ratings and initial evaluations for her service-connected lumbar spine disability, bilateral knee disabilities, right knee instability, and left knee instability were denied. The Board found that the criteria for a higher rating were not met.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as the evidence did not show ankylosis of the lumbar spine, which is required for a rating in excess of 60 percent.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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