The Board has remanded the cases for obtaining additional VA treatment records from July 2014 to the Veteran's death in July 2016.
The deciding factor: There may be outstanding relevant VA treatment records that have not been obtained yet.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic mechanical low back syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002947
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20002947.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a TDIU beginning October 4, 2011. The claim for a TDIU prior to this date is denied.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current back disability, including chronic mechanical low back syndrome with degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, spondylolisthesis L5-S1 with associated bilateral spondylolysis, lumbar myositis, and intervertebral disc syndrome, is at least as likely as not related to service. As such, the claim for service connection has been granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, variously diagnosed as scoliosis, chronic mechanical low back syndrome, lumbosacral spondylosis, lumbar facet arthropathy, and lumbosacral disc degeneration is granted. The RO will remand the remaining issues.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for residuals of neck injury with hematoma, concussion, and back condition were dismissed. The claims for right knee and left knee conditions are remanded.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.