The Veteran's claim for higher ratings for degenerative arthritis of the spine with IVDS is being remanded due to inadequate examination reports and the need for an additional VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous examinations did not adequately address functional impairment due to flare-ups, which is necessary for rating purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the spine with IVDS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2024
- Citation
- 24001301
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24001301.
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 Veteran's PTSD symptoms have caused occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. The effective date for the grant of service connection for radiculopathy, right lower extremity is granted as August 24, 2012.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to March 12, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to obtain and follow a substantially gainful occupation, effective July 18, 2017.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, even with consideration of painful motion, was not manifested by forward flexion limited to greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees. The RO denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent prior to February 3, 2020 and a rating in excess of 20 percent thereafter for lumbar spine disability.
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