The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar disc disease prior to March 7, 2016 due to insufficient examination details and failure to address flare-ups.
The deciding factor: The Joint Motion found that the October 2012 VA examination report did not adequately address evidence of the Veteran experiencing flare-ups of his service-connected lumbar disc disease prior to March 7, 2016, as required by DeLuca v. Brown and Mitchell v. Shinseki.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2018
- Citation
- 1805689
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 1805689.
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 left knee strain, lumbar disc disease, and cervical spine disability based on evidence supporting an in-service onset of symptoms that have continued to the present.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for a higher disability rating for lumbar disc disease due to inadequate medical examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to address deficiencies in the previous examination report and to determine the current severity of the Veteran's lumbar disc disease, as well as its impact on his employability.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for lumbar disc disease was withdrawn by the Veteran before a decision could be made.
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