The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity due to inadequate VA examinations in July 2010 and April 2016. The new examination must take into account the Veteran's statements, the evidence of record, and accepted medical principles.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examinations were inadequate under Correia v. McDonald (28 Vet. App. 158) and Sharp v. Shulkin (29 Vet. App. 26).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbar Spine, Radiculopathy of the Right Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101999
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19101999.
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 claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an initial increased rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative arthritis is remanded due to inadequate examination report.
- Granted
The reduction of the Veteran's lumbar spine and cervical spine disability ratings from 40% to 20% was improper, and the prior ratings are restored.
- Denied
The Board found that the evidence did not show an actual improvement in the Veteran's conditions, and thus denied the reduction requests for his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability is rated at 20 percent, and the appeal for an increased rating has been denied. The Board also found that TDIU was granted as of January 16, 2010, but not earlier.
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