The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and SMC based on need for aid and attendance due to incomplete information in the VA examination reports, including lack of specific severity assessments for radiculopathy. The Veteran is also required to provide a completed VA Form 21-2680.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current VA examinations did not adequately assess the severity of the Veteran's radiculopathy and need for aid and attendance, necessitating further examination and assessment.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, radiculopathy, left lower extremity, radiculopathy, right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120684
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 19120684.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for service connection of a lumbosacral strain, resulting in the dismissal of this issue.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, including degenerative arthritis and IVDS. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury during active duty and his continuous symptoms since then.
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