The Veteran's lumbar spine disability rating is restored to 20 percent effective December 1, 2012. The claim for a higher rating for the thoracic spine disability remains pending and requires further development.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show improvement in the lumbar spine disability that would warrant restoring the rating from 10% to 20%. The thoracic spine disability issue is remanded due to conflicting information regarding whether the Veteran was driving under the influence at the time of his motor vehicle accident.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, thoracic spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- September 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18139504
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 18139504.
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 service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. Service connection is being remanded for the lumbar spine disability and right knee and calf disabilities.
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