The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a kidney disorder and rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar spine DJD due to lack of proper examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not provide adequate opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's kidney disorder and the severity of his lumbar spine DJD, as required by regulations and remand instructions.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney disorder, lumbar spine degenerative joint disease (DJD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19104161
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (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 19104161.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from maintaining employment in the construction industry, and he was able to work with accommodations such as sedentary work and frequent breaks. The Board denied his claim for a TDIU.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a kidney disorder is dismissed, and the effective date of his service connection is set at March 29, 2018.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery bypass graft s/p myocardial infarction, left leg amputation above the knee due to venous insufficiency, and kidney disorder. The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance/housebound was also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for various conditions, including heart disorder, DMII, prostate cancer, kidney disorder, hypertension, and essential tremors. The VA examiners did not consider the Veteran's total potential exposures through all applicable military deployments, which includes his exposure as a missile maintenance technician involving solvents, asbestos, petroleum products, and hydraulic fluids.
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