The Board has restored a 60 percent disability rating for the Veteran's degenerative arthritis and IVDS with scoliosis of the spine, effective November 1, 2017. The appeal is remanded to determine if a higher evaluation is warranted.
The deciding factor: New VA examinations are needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran’s lumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Arthritis, IVDS with Scoliosis of the Spine, Left Lower Extremity Radiculopathy, Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007558
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 denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, except for a 20 percent rating for lumbosacral strain.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and facial scars, status post excision of cyst of left and right jaw. However, it granted an initial 40% rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy from June 3, 2024.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all issues as a matter of law due to a procedural defect in the Veteran's February 2023 VA Form 10182s, which attempted to concurrently elect multiple review options.
- Denied
The appeal regarding the propriety of the award of attorney fees to H.B. was denied, while the issue of reasonableness of the fee award is being remanded for further review.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.