The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for mechanical low back pain syndrome is remanded due to insufficient examination findings and the need for a VA examination. Additionally, if the examiner finds that his disability impacts his ability to work, he should be asked to file a TDIU application.
The deciding factor: Insufficient examination findings necessitate further evaluation by a VA examiner.
- Claimed conditions
- Mechanical low back pain syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19130074
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (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 19130074.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings have been dismissed as the Veteran and his representative requested to withdraw all issues on appeal prior to the promulgation of a decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations.,The Veteran is also having his right shoulder and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome evaluated as they have not been examined in over a year.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the veteran's mechanical low back pain syndrome does not warrant a higher disability evaluation, as his symptoms do not meet or approximate criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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