The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher staged disability ratings for his lumbar spine spondylolisthesis and for a TDIU due to inadequate examination findings and lack of current evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinion was insufficient, requiring an addendum that complies with Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017), and a new examination is needed to assess the Veteran's current level of functionality.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20028389
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 20028389.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's low back disorder is related to service or caused by his service-connected bilateral foot disability.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar and cervical spine spondylolisthesis as moot because they had already been adjudicated.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal for readjudication due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an increased rating more than 10 percent for lumbar spine spondylolisthesis based on the evidence of record.
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