The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates are denied as there is no evidence of a formal or informal claim prior to July 28, 2017.,The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to inadequate examination reports and the need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The Board does not have authority to grant earlier effective dates as there is no evidence of a formal or informal claim prior to July 28, 2017.,The VA examinations provided are insufficient and do not provide adequate analysis. Additional medical opinions are needed to address the Veteran's claims.
- Claimed conditions
- pseudofolliculitis barbae, lumbosacral strain (lower back pain), left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19196032
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 19196032.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate 10 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral nerve) effective from August 14, 2013, but denied higher initial ratings for the sciatic nerve.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable disability rating for pseudofolliculitis barbae as the Veteran's condition did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as it is unclear whether the Veteran's claimed conditions are due to any incident of his period of active service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for dermatochalasis, meibomian gland dysfunction, and blepharitis. The claims for lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right shoulder tendinopathy, diabetes, and prostate cancer with urinary incontinence status-post prostatectomy were remanded.
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