The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic low back pain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy due to missing service treatment records. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine if his current disabilities are related to his in-service injury.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's STRs were unavailable due to fire, which created a heightened duty to assist him in developing his claim for service connection. As a result, the Board has ordered remand of these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back pain, left lower extremity (LLE) radiculopathy, right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19196531
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 19196531.
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 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for chronic low back pain, upper back pain, right hand disability, left hand disability, headaches, and right knee disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the issues of entitlement to earlier effective dates for RLE and LLE radiculopathy service connection awards, finding that the AOJ failed to reconsider these claims under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c) after receipt of relevant official service department records. The Board remanded for a VA medical opinion to determine whether the radiculopathy onset occurred prior to September 15, 1999.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with intervertebral disc syndrome, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as special monthly compensation and total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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