The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is related to his service as a storekeeper on the USS Bon Homme Richard.
The deciding factor: The opinion requested by the Board must address whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability began during active service or is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including lifting and loading heavy supplies, munitions, and bombs on the USS Bon Homme Richard.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degeneration, central canal stenosis at L4-5, bilateral neural foraminal narrowing at L4-5
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19153512
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (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 19153512.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine degeneration was granted a 40 percent rating effective February 24, 2021. The other issues were remanded for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbar spine degeneration, sprain, and pain with right and left lower extremity radiculopathy as these conditions began during active duty training (ACDUTRA) and have continued since then.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine degeneration is granted a 40 percent rating, effective from the date of the decision. The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea and PTSD are denied ratings in excess of their current levels.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is needed regarding the service connection for lumbar spine degeneration secondary to right ankle injury, and thus the appeal is being remanded.
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