The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining service records and a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back condition and psychiatric disorder are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the April 2020 VA examiner did not substantially comply with the August 2018 remand directives regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's low back condition, and thus the matter must be remanded for an addendum opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel lumbar disc disease, an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20045867
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 20045867.
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 Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral knee conditions and back condition, service connection for skin cancer, and TDIU due to insufficient evidence or need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied an evaluation higher than the current 40 percent rating for multilevel lumbar disc disease since October 21, 2008.
- Denied
The Veteran's multilevel lumbar disc disease was evaluated as 40 percent disabling prior to October 21, 2008. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on additional symptomatology or an extraschedular basis.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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