The Board has ordered a new examination to determine if the Veteran's lumbar spine disability is related to service, manifested within one year of service, or caused by his service-connected bilateral foot and right ankle disabilities. The appeal will be remanded for these determinations.
The deciding factor: The examiner must provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's current back condition is at least as likely as not related to service, manifested within one year of service, or caused by his service-connected bilateral foot and right ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease with spurs of bilateral feet, Degenerative joint disease of right ankle, Lumbar disc bulge L2-3, L3-4 and L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2016
- Citation
- 1638129
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 1638129.
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 claim for an increased rating for unspecified insomnia disorder was denied as his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a 100% disability rating. The claim for TDIU from March 1, 2019 forward was granted due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities precluding him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Partly granted
The Board has determined that new and material evidence was not presented to reopen the claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left and right ankles, as well as adjustment disorder with depressed mood (claimed as PTSD). The Veteran's claims were previously denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and TDIU due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives. The case will be further reviewed after additional examination and opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to the need for further development, including obtaining a VA examination and clarifying whether certain conditions are related to the service-connected disability.
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