The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of compliance with its February 2016 remand instructions regarding an addendum opinion from the Director of Compensation Service.
The deciding factor: The Court found that the May 2017 Board decision did not address whether the Director's opinions complied with the remand instructions since the RO did not provide the required recommended evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, Left lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- October 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18144018
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 18144018.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy but remanded the back disability claim for further development.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 40% rating for his low back condition and a 60% rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, while other claims were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
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