The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome from June 6, 2008 is being remanded due to the failure to substantially comply with previous Board directives.
The deciding factor: Previous VA examinations and medical opinions were found inadequate in assessing the severity of the Veteran's service-connected lower back condition prior to January 4, 2021.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome, degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 27, 2024
- Citation
- 24033540
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 896 · Granted: 51% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 24033540.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of January 13, 2020 for the service connection of low back disability and related radiculopathy issues. The Veteran's claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted in January 2020.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
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