The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions from the November 2022 VA examiner. Additional addendum opinions are needed regarding the current severity of his back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy, including measurements of functional loss during flare-ups or repetitive use over time prior to December 2021.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the November 2022 VA examiner's opinions were inadequate due to conflicting findings regarding the presence of radiculopathy prior to May 2017 and failure to provide specific measurements of functional loss during flare-ups or repetitive use over time prior to December 2021.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Sciatica of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2023
- Citation
- 23013220
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 23013220.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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