The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected herniated disc of the lumbar spine, currently rated at 10 percent. The Veteran also requested that he be allowed to reopen claims for PTSD and elbow conditions secondary to his back condition.
The deciding factor: The appeal is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the service-connected herniated disc of the lumbar spine.
- Claimed conditions
- herniated disc of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2017
- Citation
- 1758031
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 1758031.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the case for further development to obtain a retrospective medical opinion addressing functional loss during flareups and with repeated use over time prior to June 2021, as the previous opinions did not provide sufficient information regarding the Veteran's functional loss.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and generalized anxiety disorder, both secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, as well as total disability due to individual unemployability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for herniated disc of the lumbar spine, acute sinusitis with sinus headaches, and pingueculas of the bilateral eyes are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered another remand to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's lumbar spine symptomatology and whether it represents or represented at any point during the period on appeal the functional equivalent of ankylosis.
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