The Board has determined that more development is necessary prior to final adjudication of the claims on appeal, including obtaining updated VA examinations and considering functional loss due to flare-ups.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous VA examination reports were inadequate as they did not address all factors required by Correia v. McDonald (2016) and DeLuca v. Brown (1995).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes, lumbar spine with spinal and neuroforaminal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2022
- Citation
- 22044818
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 22044818.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent evaluation for degenerative changes, lumbar spine with spinal and neuroforaminal stenosis from April 5, 2011 to March 21, 2014, and July 1, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for evaluations in excess of 20 percent for his service-connected degenerative changes, lumbar spine with spinal and neuroforaminal stenosis from October 29, 2001 to March 21, 2014, and since July 1, 2014 due to insufficient evidence in the prior VA examinations.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his lumbar spine disability is denied as the evidence does not show that he has had forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less, or unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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