The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to concerns about carelessness or negligence by VA in performing spinal anesthesia procedures, which may have led to his intervertebral disc syndrome and radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: VA failed to exercise the degree of care expected from a reasonable health care provider during the spinal anesthetic procedure, leading to complications that resulted in the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), radiculopathy in the lower right extremity, radiculopathy in the lower left extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19189984
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 19189984.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine and intervertebral disc syndrome.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate 20 percent rating for intervertebral disc syndrome based on limited cervical range of motion and a 40 percent rating for IVDS based on limited thoracolumbar range of motion, while dismissing the appeal for service connection for a right knee disability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, diagnosed as degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), and lumbosacral strain, based on the Veteran's consistent account of having low back problems since service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings, as well as service connection for several conditions.
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