The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection of a lower back disorder due to insufficient reasoning in the January 2018 VA examination. The examiner did not adequately consider the Veteran's lay testimony regarding continuous symptoms and treatment following service, nor did they address whether the current disability could be related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the January 2018 examiner’s rationale insufficient for addressing the adequacy of the Veteran's lay evidence and the lack of medical records supporting a nexus between the in-service back pain complaint and the current lower back disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20080114
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 generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for urinary frequency. The other claims were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lower back disorder, including lumbosacral strain, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), and bilateral lumbar radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for anxiety, depression, headaches, a neck disorder, an upper back disorder, a lower back disorder, and a left arm disorder as there was no evidence of current disabilities during the appeal period.
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