The Board has denied a temporary total disability rating for January 2018 low back surgery due to insufficient evidence of convalescence, severe postoperative residuals, or immobilization. The case is remanded for further examination and determination regarding special monthly compensation (SMC).
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not show that the Veteran required at least one month of convalescence following his low back surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease lumbar spine, T12 fracture status post kyphoplasty
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072761
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20072761.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current back disability did not begin during active service and is not related to any in-service injury or disease. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for his low back condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected back disability was denied as the evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis or its functional equivalent.
- Dismissed
The claims for increased ratings for degenerative disc disease lumbar spine and PTSD were dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for a lumbar spine condition, left knee condition, left ankle condition, and right ankle condition as they were found to be duplicative appeals. The claim for a neck condition was remanded for further development.
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