The Veteran's low back strain is currently rated at 10 percent prior to July 20, 2018 and 20 percent since then. The Board has found that the evidence does not support a higher rating for either period. However, due to new medical evidence of lumbar spinal stenosis, the Veteran's claim must be remanded for further examination and consideration.
The deciding factor: The most recent VA examination did not find any other lumbar pathology associated with the service-connected low back strain, but it is unclear if this was due to a lack of information or an inability to differentiate between the two conditions based on the available evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back strain, Lumbar spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19123321
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 19123321.
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 Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for low back strain, left shoulder, and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) based on evidence showing a causal relationship to in-service events or injuries.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed because the March 2020 rating decision, which granted service connection for a low back strain, was never issued and therefore not an appealable decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial rating for his service-connected low back strain was denied, as the current severity of his condition does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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