The Board remands the Veteran's appeal for further development, including obtaining updated treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to address the conflicting evidence regarding his service-connected thoracolumbar spine disabilities and associated radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The March 2015 VA examiner's conflicting statements about the Veteran's reports of experiencing radicular pain need to be reconciled, as well as obtaining updated treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disabilities, radiculopathy of the right femoral nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2024
- Citation
- 24000396
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including cervical spine and thoracolumbar spine disabilities, radiculopathies, a bladder disability, headaches, a left knee disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and bilateral conjunctivitis. The Board also granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial 70 percent evaluation for the service-connected psychiatric disability and a TDIU, but denied other claims related to earlier effective dates and burial expenses.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for major depressive disorder with primary insomnia effective December 16, 2019, and an initial 40 percent disability rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease from June 27, 2017 through December 6, 2021.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for increased ratings as a matter of law, having already adjudicated these issues in a previous decision.
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