The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected low back disability and scar, as well as a TDIU claim due to his combined disability percentage. The current VA examination reports are inadequate.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examination reports do not comply with the requirements set forth in Correia v. McDonald (2016), which mandates that certain range of motion testing be conducted for joint disabilities, including pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- compression fracture of L4, radiculopathy of the left leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193631
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 19193631.
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 Board dismissed the issues of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus, radiculopathy of the right and left legs, and right and left knee strains due to a procedural error in docketing the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal due to insufficient information regarding his service in the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, which is necessary for proper adjudication of all appealed issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. The issues of service connection for low back degenerative disc disease and radiculopathy of the left leg associated with low back degenerative disc disease are inextricably intertwined, so both must be addressed together.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, residuals of a right eye injury, and a sleep disorder. The veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with stenosis, radiculopathy of each leg, PTSD, loss of the left great toenail, onychomycosis and tinea pedis, and COPD were not rated higher than their current levels.
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