The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy are being remanded due to the addition of new VA treatment records. These records need to be reviewed by the AOJ before further decisions can be made.
The deciding factor: New VA treatment records have been added to the case file, necessitating their review by the AOJ before deciding on the increased ratings for the Veteran's low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, L5-S1, Radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19187514
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.
- Denied
The appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to a cervical spine disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral strain, and scoliosis, but remanded the other issues.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease, effective November 21, 2022.
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