The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and SMC are being remanded due to the need for additional evidence, particularly private treatment records from 2006 to 2017.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evidence is needed to properly evaluate the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the thoracolumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2024
- Citation
- 24008270
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 24008270.
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 claim for an increased rating for his DJD of the thoracolumbar spine is being remanded due to a need for additional medical opinion regarding the functional impairment associated with his condition, without considering the beneficial effects of medication.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve is granted, with an effective date of June 1, 2018.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date, a higher rating for DJD of the right hip with limitation of rotation and adduction, and higher ratings for DJD of the thoracolumbar spine.
- Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent increased disability evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected radiculopathy of both sciatic nerves and a 50 percent increased disability evaluation for his lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, facet arthrosis L3-L4 through L5-S1, and neural foraminal stenosis, effective May 27, 2019.
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