The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional examination and opinion regarding his service-connected lumbar spine disability, as well as his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded because the VA examinations of record were inadequate in considering the impact of the appellant’s reported flare-ups and functional loss.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar disc disease status post right L4-L5 hemilaminectomy and discectomy with right L5 foraminotomy, right leg sciatica, left leg sciatica
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19101394
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal regarding the issues of entitlement to an increased rating for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and service connection for various conditions was dismissed due to concurrent election.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability and right leg sciatica, finding that the Veteran's back disability caused his obesity, which in turn led to his back disability (via intermediate step), and that his back disability is also directly related to his hypertension. The right leg sciatica was found to be secondary to the back disability.
- Granted
The Board revised the March 2022 rating decision to grant increased ratings of 20 percent for right and left leg sciatica, correcting what it deemed as clear and unmistakable errors.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeal for service connection and effective date claims due to an impermissible concurrent election of review options.
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