The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding a separate rating for bladder and bowel disorders, as well as increased ratings for radiculopathy of the lower extremities. The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is no longer at issue.
The deciding factor: The Board found that further medical opinions are needed to address whether the Veteran's bladder and/or bowel impairment is due to his service-connected radiculopathy disabilities or has been caused by them, as well as how flare-ups of his lumbar region affect his lower extremities.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder disorder, Bowel disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 24, 2023
- Citation
- 23047106
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 23047106.
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 Board denied service connection for bladder and prostate disorders, finding that the evidence does not support a link to service or environmental exposures. The Veteran's claims were based on direct causation rather than presumptive exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's bladder disorder is denied as there is no evidence showing it was incurred or aggravated during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for joint pain, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, hypertension prior to August 10, 2022, and a bowel disorder due to inadequacies in the medical opinions provided.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a bladder disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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