The Board has remanded the case for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities should be rated as mild, moderate, severe, or complete paralysis. The TDIU issue is also being remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the medical evidence did not clearly indicate whether the Veteran's symptoms were more severe at times than others and thus a staged rating was not appropriate.
- Claimed conditions
- r radiculopathy of the lower right extremity, r radiculopathy of the lower left extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 22, 2017
- Citation
- 1753665
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 1753665.
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 Board has granted service connection for spondylolisthesis of the lumbar spine and remanded the issues regarding radiculopathy of the lower left and right extremities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU as they are rated at 20% and 40%, respectively, which is sufficient to consider him unemployable. The Board finds that his employment history and educational background support his ability to maintain substantially gainful employment despite his disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, leading to the grant of TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and radiculopathy of the lower left extremity, finding new and material evidence to support these claims.,Service connection is granted for both conditions as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back disability.
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