The Veteran's claim for higher evaluations for his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine L2-4 status post-surgery is being remanded due to inadequate examination reports and need for further evaluation.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA examinations did not comply with the requirements in Sharp v. Shulkin, which necessitated a new examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine L2-4 status post-surgery
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19192057
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 19192057.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Granted
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