The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for right hip disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and secondary service connection for these disorders due to right ankle degenerative changes. The Veteran is required to provide any outstanding private or VA treatment records and undergo addendum opinions from medical professionals.
The deciding factor: The current VA examinations are inadequate as they did not address both avenues of secondary service connection (proximate causation and aggravation) for the lumbar spine disorder and right hip disorder, nor did they provide an opinion on direct service connection. The Veteran is also required to provide any outstanding private or VA treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle degenerative changes, Lumbar spine disorder, Right hip disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19147357
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,432 · Granted: 29% (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 19147357.
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 Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left hip disorders, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine strain with bilateral lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further review.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right hip total arthroplasty prior to March 22, 2023 is dismissed due to procedural defects.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disorder, finding that it resulted from an injury incurred during active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.