The Veteran's claim to reopen the service connection for lumbosacral strain is granted. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for a back disability due to new evidence received since the April 1978 rating decision.
The deciding factor: New medical evidence now documents a current back disability, which relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, herniated disc with status post discectomy with interbody graft placement with right posterior stabilization, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, facet arthropathy, paracentric disc protrusion
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189564
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 19189564.
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 service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right leg sciatica with radiculopathy pain and paresthesia, but denied increased ratings for PTSD, lumbosacral strain, left wrist limitation of motion with ganglion cyst, and service connection for headaches, unspecified. Several issues were remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
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