The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, but has remanded the issue of service connection for left leg chronic edema due to missing or incomplete medical records.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability had its onset in service and is related to his back pain during service. The Board also noted that there are outstanding treatment records, including those from VistA imaging, which need to be obtained for a proper evaluation of the left leg edema claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Left leg chronic edema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2023
- Citation
- 23042055
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 23042055.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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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