The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for an opinion regarding functional equivalent of unfavorable ankylosis at any point during the appeal period.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lumbar spine disability has manifested as the functional equivalent of unfavorable ankylosis, necessitating further examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar paraspinal tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2023
- Citation
- 23060419
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 23060419.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 100 percent for ulcerative colitis and denied increased ratings for lumbar paraspinal tendonitis, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for lumbar paraspinal tendonitis and bilateral RLS due to incomplete STRs and inadequate VA medical opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 20 percent for a lumbar spine disability was denied, and his TDIU claim has been dismissed as moot due to the combined 100 percent schedular disability rating based on all service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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