The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, as well as his claim for a total disability rating due to unemployability (TDIU). The remand is due to inadequate examination reports from November 2018.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the November 2018 VA examination reports were inadequate and did not comply with the April 2018 remand directives, specifically regarding pain during range of motion testing and the point at which pain starts.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, Degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19175643
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 appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to a cervical spine disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral strain, and scoliosis, but remanded the other issues.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease, effective November 21, 2022.
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