The Board has determined that additional development is necessary before the claims can be fully adjudicated, including obtaining a VA examination to address the etiology of the Veteran's lumbar spine and bilateral leg radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that current medical opinions are inadequate for addressing the etiology of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and bilateral leg radiculopathy. Therefore, additional development is required in the form of a VA examination to provide an expert opinion on these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the right leg, to include as secondary to DDD of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the left leg, to include as secondary to DDD of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2018
- Citation
- 1801393
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 1801393.
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 granted service connection for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine as secondary to service-connected impairment of the left knee with arthritis and impairment of the right knee with arthritis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, radiculopathy impacting both lower extremities on a secondary basis to the back disability, and right knee degenerative arthritis.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating greater than 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and scoliosis of the thoracic spine.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a cervical spine disability and lumbar spine disability as further development is needed to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
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