The Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar osteoarthritis with scoliosis and TDIU prior to February 1, 2018 are being remanded due to procedural errors and the need for additional development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the November 2022 VA opinion was inadequate as it did not provide the necessary information requested by the August 2022 Board's directives regarding retrospective opinions on muscle spasms and flare-ups, which are required to determine if a disability rating in excess of 10 percent is warranted.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, scoliosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2022
- Citation
- 22070919
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 22070919.
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 determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition, including degenerative disc disease and scoliosis, due to lack of current disability evidence.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, right and left upper extremity radiculopathy, sleep disturbances, a right knee disability, osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, allergic rhinitis, and patellofemoral syndrome with degenerative arthritis in the left knee. The Board found that there was insufficient evidence to support these claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to deficiencies in the duty to assist, and will require a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's pre-existing scoliosis and/or additional lumbar vertebra clearly and unmistakably existed prior to service and whether any increase in severity during service was due to natural progression.
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