The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to insufficient evidence from previous examinations, including lack of goniometer measurements for range of motion testing.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that a new examination is required to determine the current severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine DDD and associated radiculopathy disabilities due to the lack of precise measurements in prior evaluations.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), r radiculopathy, right lower extremity, r radiculopathy, left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2023
- Citation
- 23023085
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 23023085.
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 Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, including as aggravated by service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD).
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, including spondylosis, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), facet joint arthritis, and L4-5 disc bulge, is now rated at 40 percent effective June 11, 2019.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's requests to appeal the May 12, 2023 rating decision that granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and denied service connection for lumbar spine DDD, left heel injury, and right knee injury. The reasons given were that the appeals were not timely filed.
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