The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability has been reopened, and he is now entitled to service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine. The Board also remanded his claims for service connection for right hip and left hip conditions due to gait.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation regarding direct service connection, but found that the Veteran's current bilateral hip osteoarthritis is more likely related to usual risk factors rather than a specific in-service injury or condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Right hip condition (to include as due to gait), Left hip condition (to include as due to gait)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19126063
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 Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that the Veteran's current degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine is related to an in-service bicycle accident.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted a 30 percent rating, while the lumbar and lower extremity radiculopathy claims are denied. An earlier effective date for right lower extremity radiculopathy was granted, and TDIU based on single service-connected disability is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine to correct a duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disability, neurological impairments of the upper extremities, and dismissed the TDIU claim as moot.
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