The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for a low back disability, but has remanded the case for further development and an opinion regarding the etiology of his current disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the prior final denial is new and material as it includes lay statements from the Veteran relating his current low back disability to his service. However, the VA examination obtained in February 2017 was inadequate for adjudicative purposes due to its failure to consider the Veteran's lay reports of in-service injury to his low back.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, lumbosacral strain/sprain, degenerative disc disease/degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2021
- Citation
- 21063701
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 21063701.
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 found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning diabetes and a low back disability has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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