The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability but has remanded his claim of service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to his thoracolumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is no clear and unmistakable evidence showing a pre-existing condition worsened during service, thus the presumption of soundness does not apply. The Veteran's current diagnoses are considered direct service connection cases. However, the claim for secondary service connection remains pending as more evidence is needed to determine if the radiculopathy is related to his thoracolumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2022
- Citation
- 22049354
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 22049354.
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection of a low back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, finding inadequate medical opinions due to failure to consider all relevant evidence.
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