The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding whether any additional low back disability is causally related to the Veteran's active military service. The case will be returned for a new VA examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The current medical opinions are inadequate as they do not consider or discuss the lay reports of in-service back pain, nor do they address the intervening work-related injuries after separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spondylosis, facet arthropathy, lumbar degenerative joint disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19165913
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 19165913.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected disabilities, while severe, do not render him unable to obtain or maintain a gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, hypothyroidism, prostate cancer, sleep apnea secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, tinea pedis, and lumbar spondylosis.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of May 1, 2018, for the award of service connection for radiculopathy, right lower extremity, was granted. The appeal for an earlier effective date for TDIU was dismissed as moot.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease, degenerative arthritis, and lumbar spondylosis based on the evidence of record.
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