The Board has remanded both claims for increased rating for the Veteran's back disability and entitlement to TDIU due to inadequate examinations in previous decisions.
The deciding factor: The April 2016 VA examination did not comply with the June 2015 directives, including addressing the Veteran’s flare-ups and providing estimates of functional loss during such events.
- Claimed conditions
- spondylosis of the lumbar spine, left lower extremity neuropathy of the sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006378
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 service connection for a bilateral eye disability (pinguecula and dry eye syndrome) on a direct basis, but dismissed claims for earlier effective dates and service connections for PTSD, rectal bleeding, left leg condition, and other neuropathies. The Board also denied an earlier effective date for the 50 percent rating for migraine headaches.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, effective April 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to obtain opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left ankle ganglion cyst, spondylosis of the lumbar spine, knee strain, and acromioclavicular joint arthritis are caused or aggravated by his service-connected chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for a disability rating higher than 20% for left lower extremity neuropathy of the sciatic nerve. The decision was based on medical evidence showing moderate incomplete paralysis, which qualifies for a 20% rating.
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