The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to the need for an addendum medical opinion regarding functional loss and flare-ups, as well as a determination of whether fecal incontinence is related to service-connected IVDS.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations are not compliant with the holding in Sharp v. Shulkin (2017), which requires consideration of flare-ups in assessing functional loss due to pain during periods of flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, raticulopathy, left lower extremity, raticulopathy, right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20028243
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20028243.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy, left and right lower extremities as there was no more than mild incomplete paralysis.
- Granted
The Board has granted an earlier effective date of September 13, 2017 for service connection for radiculopathy in both lower extremities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, sciatic nerve, with effective dates of June 8, 2015 and November 19, 2018 respectively. The Board also granted a rating of 40 percent for IVDS with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine as of March 24, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for night sweats was denied due to the lack of a diagnosed condition.,The Board found that remand is required in order to correct duty to assist errors and obtain adequate VA examinations and nexus opinions for upper back pain, right hip pain, radiculopathy, alopecia areata (claimed as hair loss), and anxiety.
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