The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, including whether it was aggravated by service or had its onset during active duty.
The deciding factor: The examiner must determine if the diagnosed lumbar disorders are related to service or pre-existed service and were aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar dysfunction, discogenic disease, spondylosis without myelopathy, radiculitis
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18127931
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 18127931.
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 an effective date of September 20, 1996 for the assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and failure to consider all service periods. The Veteran's low back disability is related to his active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability evaluation for his lumbar spine disability was dismissed because the issue had already been adjudicated under the legacy system, and there is no case or controversy left to decide.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spondylosis and discogenic disease as due to the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability, but denied service connection for radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities.
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