The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination findings and the need for further development, including a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The examination report was deemed inadequate as it did not provide information on functional loss during flare-ups of the lumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- discogenic disease, status post discectomy L5-S1, residuals of laminectomy and discectomy (lumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19131452
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (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 19131452.
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 has granted an effective date of September 20, 1996 for the assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and failure to consider all service periods. The Veteran's low back disability is related to his active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability evaluation for his lumbar spine disability was dismissed because the issue had already been adjudicated under the legacy system, and there is no case or controversy left to decide.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spondylosis and discogenic disease as due to the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability, but denied service connection for radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities.
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