The Board has remanded the claim for a low back disorder, finding that there are insufficient opinions regarding direct service connection and secondary to service-connected bilateral knee disabilities. The Veteran's lay statements about his symptoms during service have been considered.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s low back disorder is related to service or secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, as required by the Board's remand instructions.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disorder, lumbar facet arthropathy, lumbosacral spondylosis, spinal stenosis, degenerative arthritis of the spine, residuals of lumbar laminectomy, degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20069995
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for spinal stenosis, peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a low back disorder to obtain additional medical evidence and ensure that the Veteran is afforded every possible consideration.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a low back disorder was dismissed as the RO granted service connection in a November 2023 rating decision.
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