The Veteran's service-connected chronic low back strain has worsened, and a remand is necessary to determine the current severity of her condition and whether it can be directly attributed to her original service-connected injury.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to assess the current severity of the Veteran’s service-connected chronic lumbar strain and determine if it is related to her original service-connected injury or due to other factors such as post-service surgeries.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19115887
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 19115887.
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 withdrew the appeal for effective dates prior to September 27, 2024, for the awards of service connection for various knee and back conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) from April 29, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for a lower back disability and remanded claims for a higher rating, TDIU, and extraschedular consideration.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating and earlier effective date of service connection for his back disability was partially granted, with a 40 percent disability rating assigned from May 10, 2010. The claim for an earlier effective date was denied.
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