The Board has remanded the cases due to incomplete development related to the Veteran's lumbar spine surgery and increased rating claims. The AOJ is instructed to obtain missing medical records from the Campbell Clinic, validate the VA Form 21-4142, and then readjudicate both issues.
The deciding factor: Incomplete development of the record prevents a determination on the merits of the cases.
- Claimed conditions
- spondylosis of the lumbar spine, bulging disc at L2-L3, osteoarthritis at L4-L5 and L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2023
- Citation
- 23066310
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 23066310.
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 service connection for sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, effective April 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to obtain opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left ankle ganglion cyst, spondylosis of the lumbar spine, knee strain, and acromioclavicular joint arthritis are caused or aggravated by his service-connected chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome.
- Dismissed
The VA proposed reducing the appellant's disability rating for spondylosis of the lumbar spine from 40 percent to noncompensably disabling, but this proposal was not finalized and thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development and need for a new medical opinion regarding service connection for low back disability, including degenerative arthritis, DDD, and spondylosis of the lumbar spine, as secondary to service-connected right knee disability.
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