The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and bilateral hips due to a need for a new medical opinion addressing whether the appellant's service-connected knee and foot disabilities have aggravated his claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous medical opinions did not address the issue of aggravation correctly, as they used the phrase 'permanently worsened' which is not applicable to claims for aggravation under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(b).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Degenerative arthritis of the bilateral hips
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20030515
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 20030515.
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 Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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