The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected thoracolumbar spine sprain with degenerative joint disease is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess the severity of his back disability, including testing for radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The claim requires additional development as there may be evidence indicating the Veteran's disability is worse than indicated in his November 2013 VA examination, which was performed several years ago.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine sprain with degenerative joint disease (DJD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19135146
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (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 19135146.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected thoracolumbar spine sprain with degenerative joint disease (DJD) is being remanded due to the failure of the Veteran to report for a scheduled VA examination. The Board will schedule another examination to determine the current severity of his lumbar disability.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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