The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient consideration of all evidence, including a private medical opinion. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is being reviewed again for service connection.
The deciding factor: The Board found that no examiner had provided an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s multiple diagnosed spine disabilities as related to service and as related to each other as progressions of a disease process.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, spondylolisthesis of the L5 vertebra relative to the L4 vertebra, degenerative changes of the spine, mild spondylosis and acquired spinal stenosis, lumbar pars defect, tiny left paracentral annular tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070093
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 the veteran's claims for increased ratings for various conditions, including impotence, headaches, cervical spine degenerative joint disease, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for the lumbar spine disability from January 23, 2015, and denied a higher rating since September 1, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an initial rating higher than 20 percent for lumbar spine degenerative joint disease and a TDIU from December 4, 2021 to February 7, 2024 due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for lumbar spine issues was denied, but separate ratings of 20 percent were granted for right and left lumbar radiculopathy.
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