The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings due to inadequate medical examination at the November 2020 VA examination, specifically regarding functional loss during flare-ups and after repeated use over time.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the November 2020 VA examiner did not adequately account for the Veteran's reports of functional impairment during flare-ups and after repeated use over time.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) with L5-S1 disc protrusion, Right lower extremity (RLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy, Left lower extremity (LLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2024
- Citation
- 24033039
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 24033039.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine are granted as service connected.,The Veteran's right lower extremity (RLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy is granted as secondary to his lumbar spine disability.,The Veteran's left lower extremity (LLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy is granted as secondary to his lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to higher disability ratings for lumbar spine and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as effective dates for TDIU and DEA, due to non-compliance with prior remand directives.
- Granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 20% rating for lumbar spine disability and service connection for right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, while denying service connection for vertigo.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the lumbar spine disability, residual scars associated with the lumbar spine disability, and radiculopathy of both lower extremities.
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