The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for low back disability and bilateral foot disability due to insufficient medical opinions and incomplete service records. The claims will be reconsidered with new evidence and a thorough review of all available data.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on inadequate medical opinions and incomplete service records, which led to an error in denying the Veteran's claims for low back disability and bilateral foot disability.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability (degenerative disc disease), bilateral foot disability (claimed as flat feet)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2020
- Citation
- 20071394
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 20071394.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability, including degenerative disc disease, is granted service connection.,Right lower extremity radiculopathy is granted service connection.,Left lower extremity radiculopathy is granted service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for sleep apnea, low back disability, lumbar radiculopathy (right and left lower extremities), PTSD, and a rating in excess of 20 percent for PTSD. The issues are being remanded to determine if there is evidence that supports secondary service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for varicocele of the left hemiscrotum, service connection for low back disability, and service connection for left hip disability were all denied. The Board found that there was no evidence to support these claims.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability, sciatica of the bilateral lower extremities, and depression are all granted as service-connected.
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