The appeal seeking an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for spine disability is dismissed.,The claim for a higher rating for spine disability remains pending and will be remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the RO had not attempted to obtain a retrospective medical opinion concerning the severity of the Veteran's back disability during the period on appeal, which constituted a duty-to-assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- levoscoliosis of the lumbar spine, moderate multilevel degenerative changes throughout the spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2023
- Citation
- A23036556
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 A23036556.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability, including a lumbosacral strain and levoscoliosis of the lumbar spine, is granted as service-connected. The issue of an increased rating for her left hip disability remains pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of substantial compliance with a previous remand, and additional development is needed before service connection for a low back disability can be decided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is remanded for further evaluation due to insufficient information from the previous VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations to assess the current severity of his service-connected low back and right and left knee disabilities, as well as obtaining any relevant private treatment records.
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