The Veteran's spine and extremity disabilities are being remanded for additional medical opinions to address the severity of his conditions, particularly during flare-ups or with repeated use.,The Veteran's skin disability is also being remanded due to unclear onset and systemic therapy status.
The deciding factor: Additional medical opinions are needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran's spine and extremity disabilities as well as the nature and extent of his skin disability, including whether topical treatment constitutes systemic therapy.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, right lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, left lower extremity femoral radiculopathy, right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, status post fusion, right upper extremity neuropathy/radiculopathy, left upper extremity neuropathy/radiculopathy, cervical sebaceous cysts with tinea corpora
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2023
- Citation
- 23067253
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 23067253.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for right foot disability status post Mitchell's bunionectomy is granted with an effective date of July 25, 2023.,The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for left foot disability status post Mitchell's bunionectomy is dismissed as it does not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors in the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, and thus remands the case to obtain addendum medical opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for traumatic brain injury with migraine headaches and denied service connection for cervical strain, left knee strain, and left ankle deltoid ligament sprain. The remaining claims have been granted or are pending further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's left and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy disabilities were granted initial disability ratings of 40 percent, but no higher. The criteria for entitlement to these ratings have been met.
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