The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected degenerative changes in the lumbar spine. The case will be returned to the Board after this review.
The deciding factor: The decision requires further evidence and evaluation due to recent legal requirements regarding the assessment of joint range of motion during examinations for disability ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes, lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2016
- Citation
- 1639919
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 1639919.
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 degenerative changes of the lumbar spine were caused by an injury during a period of active duty for training (ADT) in August 1999, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine if the Veteran's current back disability is at least as likely as not proximately due to or aggravated by her service-connected right ankle sprain.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative changes, lumbar spine as not related to her in-service injuries and found that it was not proximately due or aggravated by her service-connected right ankle sprain.
- Denied
The Board denied a TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to September 14, 2011 due to the preponderance of evidence showing that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.