The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's lower back disability, including whether it was aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to identify all low back diagnoses and address them in their opinion, which is required under Stegall v. West and Barr v. Nicholson.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disability, nodule growth on the Veteran’s back, chronic lower back pain, S1 radiculopathy, degenerative disc changes at the lower lumbar levels, lumbar strain
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 9, 2021
- Citation
- 21007331
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 21007331.
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 denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the Veteran's claims for chronic lower back pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, neck pain, and GERD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip, left knee, right hip, and lower back disabilities. The claim for left hip disability is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left knee and lower back disabilities due to incomplete information about the Veteran's duty status during his periods of active service in the National Guard and Reserves.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
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