The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability, as it is unclear whether his current condition is related to an in-service spinal injection or if it is secondary to his service-connected bilateral foot disabilities.
The deciding factor: The opinion provided by the VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran’s low back disability was caused or aggravated by his foot disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative lumbar disc disease, lumbar stenosis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20069919
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for lumbar stenosis, finding no sufficient evidence of an in-service back injury or continuity of symptomology and a medical nexus between the Veteran's current disability and his military service.
- Partly granted
The VA denied service connection for fungal infections but remanded decisions on bilateral torn rotator cuffs, tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and degenerative lumbar disc disease.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, and the Board has granted TDIU based on this finding.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.