The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for her service-connected back disability is remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination in assessing additional functional loss during flare-ups.
The deciding factor: The January 2019 VA examiner did not comply with the Board’s remand directives regarding additional functional loss during periods of flare-ups, and thus an adequate VA examination is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- mild scoliosis, thoracic spine with degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181501
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19181501.
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 has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and conflicting statements from the Veteran's brother regarding chiropractic treatment. The examiner is asked to address the nature of any back disabilities present during the appeal period, their etiology, and whether they are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error, and will need to provide a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his back disability and service connection for radiculopathy of both lower extremities due to lack of updated treatment records, insufficient examination results, and incomplete information from the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, mild scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, anterolisthesis L5-S1 (lumbar spine disability), and a 20 percent rating for his service-connected left lower extremity radiculopathy. The Veteran's status post left total knee replacement is rated at 30 percent.
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