The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for degenerative lumbar disc disease and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional examination findings.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was not able to provide specific functional loss estimates during flare-ups or after repetitive use without resorting to speculation, necessitating further examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative lumbar disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20079500
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 20079500.
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 for his service-connected degenerative lumbar disc disease, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate VA examinations that did not account for functional loss from flare-ups and repeated use over time.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative lumbar disc disease, headache disorder, and hemorrhoids are found to have had their onset during service. Service connection is granted for these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative lumbar disc disease warrants a 40 percent evaluation from April 28, 2003, and a 50 percent evaluation from May 1, 2005.
- 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.
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