The Board remands the claims for service connection for lumbar paraspinal tendonitis and bilateral RLS to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining potentially missing service records and providing adequate medical opinions.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to incomplete service records and inadequate VA medical opinions that did not consider all relevant evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar paraspinal tendonitis, left lower extremity restless leg syndrome (RLS), right lower extremity RLS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2024
- Citation
- A24071641
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 Board granted a higher initial rating of 100 percent for ulcerative colitis and denied increased ratings for lumbar paraspinal tendonitis, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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