The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is currently rated as 10 percent for the period prior to May 7, 2012 and from October 25, 2017 to February 5, 2018. The appeal is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the severity of his disability during other periods on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional retrospective medical opinions are needed to properly assess the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and its impact over the course of the entire appeal period, including any VA and non-VA treatment records and previous VA back examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back strain, Degenerative arthritis, Degenerative disc disease (excluding IVDS), IVDS (lumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2024
- Citation
- 24004102
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 24004102.
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 hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors and the need for a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the lumbar spine disability prior to October 11, 2022 and since December 1, 2022. The Veteran's claim is currently rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5242.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis and a lumbosacral strain, is at least as likely as not related to his active service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
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