The Board has found that there was not substantial compliance with its May 2018 remand directives regarding the Veteran's claims for increased rating and TDIU. Therefore, another remand is necessary to adequately afford the Veteran a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his lumbar spine disability prior to adjudication of the claim.
The deciding factor: The Board notes that there was not substantial compliance with its May 2018 remand directives regarding the Veteran's claims for increased rating and TDIU, specifically due to the lack of proper notice given to the Veteran about the scheduled VA examination and the cancellation reason being unclear.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19187661
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.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, lumbar spinal stenosis, and psychiatric disorders were dismissed due to untimely notice of disagreement. The proposed rating reductions for lower extremity radiculopathy were also dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar spinal stenosis, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between the condition and his active service or any service-connected disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claim for lumbar spinal stenosis due to a duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a higher rating for lumbar spinal stenosis to obtain an addendum opinion considering the impact of pain medications on the Veteran's back symptoms.
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