The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's low back pain is related to her service-connected condition or if it was caused by her service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The Court in Saunders v. Wilkie determined that consideration needed to be given as to whether the Veteran’s complaints of low back pain, other than as a result of her diagnosed disabilities, rose to the level of a disability.
- Claimed conditions
- low back pain, degenerative disc disease, spondylosis L4-L5 and L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183540
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 Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability since September 26, 2024.
- Dismissed
The appeal to reopen the previous denial of service connection for lumbosacral strain is dismissed as the benefit sought has been fully granted.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and initial ratings were dismissed due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) being filed more than one year after the November 2022 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.