The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease status post fusion with mild bilateral sciatic radiculopathy is remanded due to the inadequacy of a September 2018 VA examination report. A new examination must be conducted and a retrospective medical opinion provided.
The deciding factor: The September 2018 VA examination report was inadequate as it did not adequately describe the severity, frequency, and duration of flare-ups, nor could it estimate additional loss of range of motion during a flare-up without speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease status post fusion with mild bilateral sciatic radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19123111
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 19123111.
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
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