The Board has remanded the claim for a disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent prior to March 18, 2014 for service-connected lumbar degenerative disc disease, L4-5 due to inadequate VA examinations from December 2008 and December 2009. The Veteran is required to provide additional evidence regarding the severity of her disability during the period prior to March 18, 2014.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examinations were inadequate as they did not describe the Veteran's functional loss due to flare-ups and did not estimate range of motion loss due to such flares.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease, L4-5 (claimed as low back pain with spasms)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19132055
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 19132055.
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 a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's lumbar degenerative disc disease, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease, finding no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and lumbar degenerative disc disease to allow VA to obtain potentially relevant records from Florida VA facilities and clarify dates and locations of periods of incarceration.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for lumbar degenerative disc disease and service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, as secondary to the back disability.
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