The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for lumbosacral paraspinal muscle strain, a separate rating for bowel or bladder impairment, and entitlement to TDIU due to duty-to-assist errors in obtaining relevant medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports were inadequate as they did not consider all of the Veteran's symptomology associated with his lumbar strain, including functional loss from repetitive use over time. The Board also found that the issues of a separate rating for bowel or bladder impairment and entitlement to TDIU should be adjudicated.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral paraspinal muscle strain, bowel or bladder impairment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2021
- Citation
- A21020066
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 A21020066.
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 a separate compensable rating for bowel or bladder impairment associated with her lumbar spine disability, a disability rating in excess of 40 percent for her lumbar spine disability, TDIU and SMC. The claims are being remanded to obtain necessary medical opinions and records.
- Denied
The Veteran's neurologic abnormalities and tremors are not considered to be caused or aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine disability or any other service-connected condition. The bilateral arm disability is also not found to be related to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for his service-connected lumbar spine disability is denied as the evidence does not show that his disability meets or approximates the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disorder and for increased evaluations of her degenerative arthritis with IVDS of the lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and right knee arthritis. The Board also remanded issues regarding bowel or bladder impairment as secondary to the service-connected lumbar spine disability and TDIU.
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