The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal for additional development due to a procedural error, including securing relevant VA examinations and providing the Veteran and her attorney an opportunity to respond to this evidence.
The deciding factor: Due process was not followed as the AOJ secured relevant VA examinations without informing the Veteran or her attorney of these developments. The Board must ensure that due process is adhered to in order to avoid prejudice.
- Claimed conditions
- scoliosis of the thoracic and lumbar spine with degenerative disc disease (DDD) at L2-L3 and L3-L4, sciatic radiculopathy of the LEFT lower extremity, sciatic radiculopathy of the RIGHT lower extremity, femoral radiculopathy of the LEFT lower extremity, femoral radiculopathy of the RIGHT lower extremity, post-surgical scars of the mid-lower abdomen and mid-back, neurogenic / overactive bladder with urgency, fecal urgency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20073011
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sciatic radiculopathy of the RIGHT lower extremity as secondary to degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, increased the rating for PTSD from 50 percent to 70 percent from September 1, 2017 to July 8, 2019, granted TDIU effective January 1, 2014, and awarded SMC based on housebound status effective September 1, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for low back degenerative disc disease (DDD) with spondylosis, a post-surgical low back scar, and sciatic radiculopathy of both lower extremities. It also granted an increased rating of 30 percent for cervical spine disc protrusions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical examination to determine if the Veteran's current neck strain is related to his in-service activities.
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