The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a lumbosacral strain (back condition), rating in excess of 10 percent for status post right ankle avulsion fracture, and total disability rating based upon unemployability (TDIU) due to new evidence.
The deciding factor: New VA examination is needed to address the Veteran's complaints of back pain during service and his assertions that he had to carry heavy loads during service, as well as any records relating to a 2007 accident that aggravated his back pain.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain (back condition), right ankle avulsion fracture
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19187298
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19187298.
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 has restored the 10 percent disability rating for an adjustment disorder and the 20 percent disability rating for a back condition, effective June 1, 2025. The Veteran's claims of increased ratings are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back condition and whether his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities caused or aggravated obesity, which in turn may have caused his back condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and examination regarding his back condition, right shoulder condition, right ankle condition, migraine headaches, and urinary frequency. The Veteran is not entitled to an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for a back condition, including as secondary to his service-connected right hip disability. The Veteran's current back condition is less likely than not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right hip disability. An addendum medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's back condition is aggravated by his service-connected right hip disability.
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