The Veteran's low back strain is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has remanded for further development.,The issues of service connection for OSA, headaches, and TDIU have been remanded by the Board.
The deciding factor: The appeal involves multiple issues including a request for increased ratings and new claims for service connection. The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to fully adjudicate these matters.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back strain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20082014
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 remands the claim for an increased rating for low back strain to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including the side effects of medication taken to treat his back disability, precluded substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his low back strain based on the evidence showing that the disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for low back strain and a rating in excess of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve after April 26, 2024. However, it granted a 20 percent rating for the left lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve prior to that date and remanded the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability.
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