The Veteran's lumbar strain, status post discectomy, is remanded for additional medical opinions regarding the appropriate disability rating.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was unable to provide retrospective medical opinions without resorting to speculation due to a lack of information and data from previous examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain, status post discectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2023
- Citation
- 23060461
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 23060461.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbar strain, status post discectomy is remanded for further development due to the need for retrospective medical opinions regarding functional loss during flare-ups and after repeated use over time.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbar strain, status post discectomy, is remanded for additional development to obtain retrospective medical opinions regarding functional loss during flare-ups and after repeated use over time.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbar strain, status post discectomy, is remanded for additional development to address the adequacy of prior VA spine examinations and provide estimates of functional loss due to flare-ups and repeated use over time.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The Veteran was granted a higher rating for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy effective June 17, 2021.,Prior to May 18, 2021, the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).,Beginning May 18, 2021, the Veteran was granted TDIU status.
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