The Board has decided that the Veteran's low back disability and TDIU claim need further evaluation due to inadequate medical opinions and outstanding private treatment records.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions were based on an inaccurate factual premise, requiring a new opinion on the relationship between the Veteran's lumbago and mechanical low back pain with his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbago, mechanical low back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19131925
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 multiple disabilities, including various musculoskeletal conditions and mental health disorders.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed because the Veteran did not timely file a Board Appeal request with respect to the rating decision issued on September 24, 2021.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension is granted a 10 percent rating, but no higher. The claims for service connection for edema of the left and right lower extremities, scoliosis, lumbago, dysplasia, left shoulder keloid, and keloid on the right thigh are denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for mechanical low back pain, musculoskeletal neck and cervical spine, and ear condition (such as earaches) based on the evidence showing that these conditions had their onset during active service with continuity of symptoms to the present.
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