The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for degeneration of lumbar intervertebral disc and bilateral radiculopathy lower extremity sciatic nerve require further development due to a duty-to-assist error in the initial examination.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide sufficient rationale for classifying the Veteran's in-service injury as acute only, which is inconsistent with the Veteran's lay statements of continued back pain since discharge from service.
- Claimed conditions
- degeneration of lumbar intervertebral disc, bilateral radiculopathy lower extremity sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2024
- Citation
- A24045896
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 A24045896.
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 appeal for service connection of a lumbar disc condition is remanded. The VA needs to obtain more records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reopen the claims for service connection for degeneration of lumbar intervertebral disc and cervical spinal stenosis. The claims are being remanded for further adjudication.
- Granted
Service connection for a lumbar spine disability currently diagnosed as degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, lumbar spondylosis, and degeneration of lumbar intervertebral disc is granted.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is granted. Effective October 30, 2015, a rating of 50 percent, but no higher, for tension headaches is granted.,Effective October 30, 2015, the effective date for service connection for TMJ (claimed as right jaw) is set at July 13, 2004. A TDIU is also granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinion in a previous VA examination. The Veteran's low back disability is related to his service, including an accident during active duty.
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