The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder and associated bilateral lower extremity neuropathy and/or radiculopathy are related to his military service, including his in-service duties as an aviation machinist mate. The VA examiner found that there is a 50% or greater probability that these conditions began during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder and associated neuropathy and/or radiculopathy are at least as likely as not related to his military service, including his in-service duties.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2018
- Citation
- 18158890
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 18158890.
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 Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in previous examinations, requiring additional information on right shoulder ROM measurements without medication effects.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been reduced from 40% and 10%, respectively, to 20% and 0%. The reduction was based on improvements shown in recent VA examinations.
- Denied
The Veteran's right knee strain with arthritis is currently rated at 10 percent, the maximum allowable rating under Diagnostic Code 5010 prior to February 7, 2021. The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia and irritable bowel syndrome is not rated higher than 30 percent.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left ankle and lumbosacral spine disabilities were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable VA rating criteria.
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