The Board remands the claims for further development as the VA examination and addendum opinion are found to be inadequate.
The deciding factor: The examiner's report was contradictory, failed to provide necessary range of motion measurements, and did not adequately address all prompts provided in the remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- Residual back injury, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity involving the sciatic nerve associated with residual back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2024
- Citation
- 24031458
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 remands the matter to obtain a retrospective opinion on the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine condition prior to October 2018, as the previous VA examinations were found inadequate.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for right lower extremity radiculopathy and back injury, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical examination to determine if the Veteran's current neck strain is related to his in-service activities.
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