The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his back disability is remanded due to the inadequacy of the October 2015 VA examination and the need for a new examination that adequately addresses the current severity of his condition.
The deciding factor: The Board found the October 2015 VA examination inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's flareups, which were testified to by the Veteran during the hearing.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000217
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 an earlier effective date of September 1, 2016, for the 40 percent rating assigned for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine and denied a rating in excess of 40 percent.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of June 1, 1996, for the grant of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine because the Veteran did not receive notice of the initial denial in 1996 and his claim remained pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to higher ratings for degenerative disc disease and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy due to insufficient medical evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for the back disability prior to April 13, 2017, and a 40 percent rating from August 2, 2019, to December 30, 2019, but denied higher ratings in other periods. The Board also remanded several service connection claims.
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