The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an adequate examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's lumbar spine condition due to inconsistencies within the February 2017 VA medical examination.
The deciding factor: The examination did not comply with Correia, Mitchell, and DeLuca requirements as it failed to conduct range of motion tests and address inconsistencies in the record regarding arthritis diagnosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178814
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease and associated radiculopathy, as the record does not include all relevant treatment records prior to back surgery.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for right third toe disability and entitlement to TDIU due to outstanding evidence and further development.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and tuberculosis, granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, and granted an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for pulmonary fibrosis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, colon cancer, arthritis, a respiratory disability (asthma/COPD), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to insufficient evidence of current disabilities or links to service.
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