The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability rating was reduced from 40% to 10%, but the reduction is found to be improper. The case is remanded for further development, including a VA examination and medical opinion regarding the Veteran's ability to work due to his lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not demonstrate an actual improvement in the Veteran’s ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disk disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19130140
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19130140.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's degenerative disk disease of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board has granted a higher rating to 40 percent.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar spine disability to schedule a VA examination to determine if the Veteran has intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) and, if so, whether he has required bed rest prescribed by a physician during any 12-month period.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability was granted a 40 percent evaluation from April 15, 2015, to April 7, 2016, and from June 1, 2016, to the present. The RO also increased his evaluations for radiculopathy affecting the left sciatic nerve, right sciatic nerve, left femoral nerve, and right femoral nerve.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to October 31, 2018, for the award of service connection for a lumbar spine disability was denied. The earliest possible effective date is October 31, 2018.
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