The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and associated radiculopathies due to new evidence received after the last Supplemental Statement of the Case.
The deciding factor: New private treatment records were submitted after the issuance of a Supplemental Statement of the Case, necessitating further review and readjudication.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, Femoral nerve radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Femoral nerve radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2023
- Citation
- 23006695
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 23006695.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations to assess the severity of her service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with lumbarization of S1, as well as her sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities. The claims are inextricably intertwined due to their association.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy were denied. The Board found that no claim was received prior to July 15, 2021 and thus the proper effective date is July 15, 2021.,The Veteran also sought an earlier effective date for his left lower extremity radiculopathy, which was similarly denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is remanded due to concerns about the adequacy of a previous examination report, which did not include measurements using a goniometer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a procedural error in failing to provide the Veteran with notice of a scheduled hearing. The Veteran must be provided with a hearing before the matter can be reconsidered.
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