The Board has decided that a VA examination and medical opinion are needed to determine if the Veteran's current lumbosacral disability is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The decision was made because there is insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current condition, specifically whether it began during or was caused by his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel lumbar spondylosis, facet arthropathy, bulging disc, moderate to severe narrowing of the spinal canal at L4-5
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19155838
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 19155838.
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 has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbar spine discogenic disease status post surgery, spondylosis, and facet arthropathy as secondary to his service-connected right ankle disability. The SMC claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as multilevel degenerative disc disease and facet arthropathy, finding that it is related to his in-service injury.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the Board Appeal request was not filed within one year of the rating decision, and no extension of time to file an appeal was granted due to lack of good cause.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's back conditions and her service connection claim. The VA will obtain a new opinion from a qualified examiner.
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