The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a new examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability and associated radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted by the Veteran is not adequate for rating purposes as it does not provide enough detail regarding the type, severity and frequency of the Veteran’s symptoms in order to rate the disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity associated with DJD of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity associated with DJD of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20032206
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 20032206.
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 increased ratings for the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, and depressive disorder. However, it granted a total disability rating based on unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation at the housebound rate.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for DJD of the lumbar spine from February 25, 2016 to September 15, 2023 and denied a rating in excess of 40 percent from September 16, 2023.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a spine disability and lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities. The Veteran was also granted an increased rating of 30 percent for his scars.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial evaluations for DJD of the lumbar spine and radiculopathy of both lower extremities have been denied as they do not meet the criteria for higher ratings under VA rating criteria.
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