The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) with radiculopathy and spinal fusion, as well as left elbow condition. The case is remanded to obtain updated medical records and to provide a VA examination to determine the current severity of hypertension.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence linking the Veteran's current conditions to service or any other service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) with radiculopathy and spinal fusion, left elbow condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19106539
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 19106539.
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 Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for left elbow, hand, and knee conditions related to gout have been granted. The claim for a left hip condition has been denied due to lack of current disability evidence. Service connection for the left shoulder condition is also denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions as secondary to left ankle condition due to an improper concurrent election in a previous appeal.
- Dismissed
The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for fibromyalgia is dismissed.,The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for a left knee condition is dismissed.
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