The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence indicates that the Veteran's condition has worsened since the last VA examination, necessitating further evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc and joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2017
- Citation
- 1702354
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 1702354.
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 his lumbar spine degenerative disc and joint disease from July 23, 2009 was denied as the disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc and joint disease does not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent, as his forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine exceeds 30 degrees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's erectile dysfunction is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is caused or aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc and joint disease and/or lentigo malignant melanoma.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc and joint disease is rated at 40 percent since July 23, 2009. The appeal for a higher rating remains pending.
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