The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and entitlement to Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not comply with the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 4.59, which mandates testing in both active and passive motion, weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing conditions, and must include findings on pain during flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, left sciatic neuritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20022967
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 20022967.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine and left knee traumatic arthritis have been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal prior to a scheduled hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, PTSD, and degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, finding that it was incurred during active duty.
- Granted
Service connection for a lumbar spine disability currently diagnosed as degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, lumbar spondylosis, and degeneration of lumbar intervertebral disc is granted.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is granted. Effective October 30, 2015, a rating of 50 percent, but no higher, for tension headaches is granted.,Effective October 30, 2015, the effective date for service connection for TMJ (claimed as right jaw) is set at July 13, 2004. A TDIU is also granted.
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