The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to arrange for a new VA examination, obtain all relevant records, and provide the Veteran with another opportunity to submit evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were found to be inadequate as they did not include range of motion testing and did not address functional loss during flare-ups or estimate it when unable to do so.
- Claimed conditions
- discogenic disk disease changes, small central disk protrusion with mild impression upon thecal sac and paravertebral muscles myositis (cervical spine disability), small left posterolateral disc protrusion, mild narrowing neural foramina, central disc protrusion with impression on thecal sac and lumbar myositis (lumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19184245
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (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 19184245.
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
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