The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for additional back disability due to VA treatment resulting in him falling on his back in October 2016.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the examiner provided conflicting opinions as to whether the Veteran’s current back condition was caused by or became worse as a result of VA treatment, and thus another examination is necessary.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the spine, L5-S1 anterior spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19176351
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,421 · Granted: 31% (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 19176351.
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 Veteran's claim for a 40 percent rating for lumbar spine disability is granted, effective July 19, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and readjudication due to non-compliance with previous remand instructions.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as a TDIU.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as her Raynaud's syndrome and degenerative disc disease of the spine did not meet the criteria for higher ratings, while her psychiatric disorder claim was denied due to lack of a diagnosed condition.
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