The Board remands the issues of entitlement to a non-initial rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected low back disability and entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) for further development.
The deciding factor: The examination reports were found inadequate as they failed to address certain functional losses and did not provide the requested information regarding reduced lumbar lordosis.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2022
- Citation
- 22001325
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for various conditions, including impotence, headaches, cervical spine degenerative joint disease, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for the lumbar spine disability from January 23, 2015, and denied a higher rating since September 1, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an initial rating higher than 20 percent for lumbar spine degenerative joint disease and a TDIU from December 4, 2021 to February 7, 2024 due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's request for a higher rating than 20% for lumbar spine degenerative joint disease was denied. The claim for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) was dismissed.
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