The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected lumbar spine disability prior to October 27, 2021, and a rating in excess of 40 percent from that date. The appeal is being returned due to insufficient medical opinions regarding functional loss and ankylosis.
The deciding factor: The Board found the existing VA examination reports inadequate for adjudicating the claims as they did not provide retrospective findings on flare-ups and failed to address whether there were any findings or symptoms representing the functional equivalent of ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine.
- Claimed conditions
- ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2022
- Citation
- 22063772
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 22063772.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar spine is related to service and grants service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ankylosing spondylitis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to environmental factors during active military service. Service connection was also granted for a bilateral hip condition, but this issue is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding its relationship to service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is seeking to have the effective dates for his service-connected conditions and TDIU revised due to a claimed error in the original rating decisions. The Board has determined that these claims should be remanded for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for ankylosing spondylitis of the cervical spine, lumbar spine, and bilateral hip condition due to in-service infections or exposure to herbicide agents. The AOJ must obtain a new medical opinion addressing the etiology of these conditions.
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