The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal for development consistent with a recent Court holding, specifically addressing the severity and manifestations of her service-connected low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy during periods of flare-ups. The case is now pending again with the Board.
The deciding factor: The Court held that VA examiners have a duty to quantify functional impairment experienced during symptom flare-ups associated with service-connected disabilities, particularly in cases involving orthopedic and neurologic symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbosacral Spine, Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19125987
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and facial scars, status post excision of cyst of left and right jaw. However, it granted an initial 40% rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy from June 3, 2024.
- Denied
The appeal regarding the propriety of the award of attorney fees to H.B. was denied, while the issue of reasonableness of the fee award is being remanded for further review.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of the 40 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability, effective November 1, 2023, and denied a higher rating. The claims for increased ratings for radiculopathy and TDIU were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for acquired mood disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and increased ratings for spine disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The claims for an acquired psychiatric disability, ED, and bilateral knee pain were remanded.
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