The Board has found that there has not been substantial compliance with its November 2019 remand directives and has therefore ordered another remand to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claim for service connection of a lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the previous medical opinions were inadequate due to their reliance on the absence of medical records, which is not sufficient to support a negative nexus opinion. The opinions also failed to consider the lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology since service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20078065
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 20078065.
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 Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating, compensable rating, and extension of temporary total evaluation for his lumbar spine disability have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing all claims in April 2022.
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