The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating prior to February 21, 2003, for service-connected valvular heart disease; a rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected lumbar spine disability; and an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected right lower extremity radiculopathy. The AOJ is instructed to consider both the former (pre- January 12, 1998) and current (post- January 12, 1998) criteria for evaluating disabilities of the spine when readjudicating the initial rating assigned to the Veteran's valvular heart disease. The AOJ is also instructed to schedule a VA examination to assess the current nature and severity of the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy, and to issue a SOC addressing the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his right lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Board has determined that the criteria used by the AOJ in assigning initial ratings for the Veteran's service-connected disabilities were not applied correctly. Specifically, the AOJ did not consider both the former and current rating criteria when evaluating the Veteran's valvular heart disease prior to January 12, 1998.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, lumbar spine disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006879
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee, right hip, and lumbar spine disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability but denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for his left knee disability prior to April 25, 2019.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
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