The Veteran's claims for an increased rating and TDIU are remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess his current back disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran testified that his symptoms have worsened since his last VA examination, necessitating a new evaluation of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2018
- Citation
- 18132765
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 18132765.
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 Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain a VA examination and additional medical records, including Social Security Administration records. The goal of the remand is to provide an adequate evaluation for his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine prior to January 21, 2010.
- Partly granted
The Board has determined that there is no clear and unmistakable error in the effective date assignments for service connection, but found that there was clear and unmistakable error in the effective date assignment for the award of service connection for residual scars status post skin graft of the right leg. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings on an extra-schedular basis are denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating schedule.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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