The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of right hip disabilities due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error. The Veteran is required to be scheduled for VA examinations to address her back disability and right hip disabilities, including assessing the severity of her symptoms during flare-ups and with repeated use over time, as well as considering the effects of medication.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the October 2020 VA Hip and Thigh Conditions examination was inadequate for adjudicatory purposes in the instant proceeding due to inconsistencies between estimated ROM measurements and the Veteran's reports of flare-ups and functional impact. The right hip disabilities were also inadequately addressed.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Right hip strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2024
- Citation
- A24027485
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 A24027485.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a back disability due to incomplete service records and failure to consider all available evidence, including in-service treatment records from F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
- Granted
The Veteran's rating for residuals status post lumbar fusion was reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent effective October 25, 2023. The reduction was granted as there was no evidence of actual improvement in the Veteran's condition prior to this date.
- 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.
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