The Board has remanded the case due to deficiencies in the February 2018 decision, including not providing analysis for a separate rating for a neurologic abnormality and inconsistencies in the analysis of evidence from May 17, 2012. The Veteran must be afforded another examination with a physician to assess his lumbar spine disability and any neurological manifestations.
The deciding factor: The Board found deficiencies in the February 2018 decision regarding separate ratings for neurologic abnormalities and inconsistencies in the analysis of evidence from May 17, 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint and Disc Disease Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20071749
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20071749.
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 and TDIU due to issues related to his lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy of the lower extremities, and unemployability.
- Denied
The Veteran's degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 40 percent, effective May 17, 2012. The evidence does not support a higher rating based on unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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