The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to incomplete medical records, inadequate examination reports, and conflicting employment history.
The deciding factor: Incomplete medical records and inadequate examination reports make it impossible to fully evaluate the Veteran's conditions. The conflicting employment history requires clarification from the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Paravertebral muscle strain with pain and muscle spasms, Radiculopathy of right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2023
- Citation
- 23010984
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 23010984.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities were granted service connection effective October 25, 2018.,PTSD was also granted service connection effective July 10, 2007. The Veteran requested an earlier effective date for PTSD, but this was denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him so helpless as to need regular aid and attendance of another person, resulting in the grant of SMC at the A&A rate. The question of entitlement to SMC on account of being housebound is moot due to the grant of SMC based on A&A.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, finding that the Veteran's symptoms were primarily manifested by intermittent pain and moderate incomplete paralysis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, but denied ratings in excess of 20 percent.
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