The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for herniated disc of the lumbar spine, acute sinusitis with sinus headaches, and pingueculas of the bilateral eyes are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: Duty-to-assist errors occurred prior to the March 2020 rating decision on appeal, including incomplete VA treatment records and an inadequate examination for pinguecula.
- Claimed conditions
- herniated disc of the lumbar spine, acute sinusitis with sinus headaches, pingueculas of the bilateral eyes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2024
- Citation
- A24023453
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 A24023453.
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 Board remanded the case for further development to obtain a retrospective medical opinion addressing functional loss during flareups and with repeated use over time prior to June 2021, as the previous opinions did not provide sufficient information regarding the Veteran's functional loss.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and generalized anxiety disorder, both secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, as well as total disability due to individual unemployability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered another remand to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's lumbar spine symptomatology and whether it represents or represented at any point during the period on appeal the functional equivalent of ankylosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for another VA examination to clarify the Veteran's range of motion and assess his current severity of lumbar spine disability.
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