The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's lumbar spine disability during a specific period of time.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for additional retrospective medical opinions regarding the Veteran's reports of flare-ups and limitations in motion during a specific timeframe.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar disc disease, chronic lumbar strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007441
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 Board granted service connection for left knee strain, lumbar disc disease, and cervical spine disability based on evidence supporting an in-service onset of symptoms that have continued to the present.
- Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for the assignment of ratings and service connection based on an intent to file a claim submitted by the Veteran prior to his formal claim.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for chronic lumbar strain, restored the 10 percent rating for right knee patellofemoral syndrome effective February 11, 2023, and granted separate 10 percent ratings for instability of the right knee. The decision also granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD from June 8, 2021, and TDIU based on PTSD alone from August 21, 2021, along with SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) based on housebound status from the same date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for a higher disability rating for lumbar disc disease due to inadequate medical examinations.
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