The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disability, lumbar spine scar, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional errors related to obtaining the Veteran's complete service record and adequate medical opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's claimed low back disability.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed to address the etiology of the Veteran's low back disability, including a review of his in-service report of low back pain and any outstanding medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- Intervertebral disc syndrome (IDVS) with lumbosacral strain, spinal fusion, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, Lumbar spine scar, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2024
- Citation
- A24063816
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The appeal for higher ratings and effective dates for various conditions was denied, with the exception of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy which were granted an earlier effective date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for spinal stenosis, peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
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