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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for lower back, right hip, and right ankle disorders as secondary to his left knee disorder. The AOJ must obtain VA examinations and provide answers to questions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for left leg shin splints and lower back disorder due to new evidence received by the Veteran. The VA will conduct further examinations and consider any additional evidence before making a decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's lower back disorder. The case will be returned for an addendum opinion from a VA examiner.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a lower back disorder, finding that the preexisting spondylolisthesis did not increase in severity during active duty and was not aggravated by service.
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