The Veteran's radiculopathy of the left lower extremity was granted with a 10 percent rating effective June 27, 2011. The Board found that reasonable doubt should be resolved in favor of the Veteran and granted an initial 10 percent rating for this condition. However, the lumbar spine issues were remanded due to insufficient medical examination records.
The deciding factor: The Court found that the Board failed to consider the functional impact of pain on the Veteran's lumbar spine disability during examinations conducted prior to September 28, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002516
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 appeal regarding the proposed reduction of the Veteran's disability rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity was dismissed as it was not a final decision. The Board also remanded the claim for service connection for a left hip disability due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings due to a procedural error regarding notice of the right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including knee and foot conditions, a low back disability, radiculopathy, tinnitus, and a neck condition, to correct pre-decisional errors in fulfilling VA's duty to assist by rescheduling missed examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his thoracolumbar spine and radiculopathy conditions, as well as a separate rating for femoral nerve radiculopathy, to obtain additional medical evidence.
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