The Board has ordered the AOJ to obtain copies of service treatment records associated with the Veteran’s most recent period of service in the Army National Guard. The appeal is remanded due to issues with the examination reports and missing service treatment records.
The deciding factor: The examination reports do not comply with VA regulations, particularly regarding range of motion testing for joints, which could affect the accuracy of disability ratings assigned for the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine strain, right hip bursitis, limited extension of the right hip, limited flexion of the right hip, chondromalacia patella of the right knee, left lower extremity sciatica, right lower extremity sciatica
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19107849
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 631 · Granted: 21% (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 19107849.
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 Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings for lumbar spine arthritis and right lower extremity sciatica have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar strain and lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with left sciatica. The right lower extremity sciatica claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity sciatica, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain. The decision is based on a finding of reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to address the severity of the Veteran's right hip and knee disabilities, including any ameliorative effects of medication.
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