The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development to determine the current severity of his back disability and radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: Additional medical records are needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran’s back disability, including IVDS, and its impact on daily activities and employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of right lower extremity, Degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) of lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19129466
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.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, finding that the Veteran's symptoms were primarily manifested by intermittent pain and moderate incomplete paralysis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, but denied ratings in excess of 20 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or maintaining a substantially gainful occupation.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD was rated at 70 percent prior to January 22, 2018. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating.
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