The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his low back disability. The TDIU claim will also be referred for consideration on an extraschedular basis.
The deciding factor: The case requires additional evidence and assessment due to recent developments in the Veteran's treatment and employment status.
- Claimed conditions
- low back strain with degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2016
- Citation
- 1645546
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 1645546.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn due to his request for withdrawal prior to the Board's decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back strain with degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine was granted a 10 percent rating from July 1, 1997 to October 30, 2006. Since then, he is entitled to a higher rating for this condition. The arthritis of the thoracic spine has also been rated at its maximum schedular value.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral metatarsalgia with calluses, low back strain with degenerative changes, and arthritis of the thoracic spine were denied. The Board also denied a TDIU claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examination is inadequate and remands for a new evaluation of the appellant's service-connected low back strain with degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine. The issue of entitlement to TDIU has also been raised by the record and must be adjudicated.
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