The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including another VA examination to assess the current severity of his lumbar disability and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity.
The deciding factor: The passage of time since the last VA examination in July 2012 and the Veteran's assertion that his condition has worsened warrant a new evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic arthritis of the lumbar spine with degenerative disc disease, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2017
- Citation
- 1759258
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 1759258.
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 Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability is rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds that it warrants a rating of 40 percent throughout the appeal period.,Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability is granted. The Veteran's claim for an initial rating will be remanded for further evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal of the claims for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability and whether proposed reductions in ratings for service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremities were proper. The appeals are dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU, finding that his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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