The Veteran's back disability is currently rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional medical records and conduct a new VA examination to evaluate the current severity of his service-connected back disability.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed, including treatment records from the December 2016 surgical laminectomy and a comprehensive VA examination to assess the current status of the Veteran's back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- spondylosis lumbar spine, stenosis T11-T12, bulging disc L2-L3, osteoarthritis L4-L5 and L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120965
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 19120965.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of service connection for a right shoulder disability, spondylosis lumbar spine, and an acquired psychiatric disability to correct duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected lumbar spine disability was denied as the evidence did not show flexion to 30 degrees or less, ankylosis, or incapacitating episodes.,The Veteran's claim for a temporary total rating (TTR) based on convalescence following surgery in December 2016 was also denied due to lack of documentation showing required convalescence period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records from the Campbell Clinic regarding the Veteran's December 2016 lumbar spine surgery and follow-up care.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for spondylosis lumbar spine with postoperative left foot drop. The issue of secondary service connection for the left foot drop is remanded.
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