The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient rationale in a previous VA examination regarding whether the Veteran's low back disability is related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided by the VA examiner was inadequate for rating purposes and requires further guidance on the etiology of the Veteran’s low back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- intervertebral disc syndrome (low back disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19194867
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 19194867.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and initial compensable ratings, finding that the earliest possible effective date for service connection for a low back disability was April 27, 2016.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for increased evaluation for low back disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy were denied. A separate compensable evaluation of 10 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy was granted. The claim for TDIU was denied, and the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder was remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical examination to determine if the Veteran's current neck strain is related to his in-service activities.
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