The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including sciatica, lumbar sprain, DDD of the lumbar spine, degenerative changes of the left knee, mild degenerative arthropathy of the right knee, CTS of both upper extremities, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to correct a duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions are not probative because they are based on an inaccurate factual premise. The examiner did not specifically acknowledge that one of the treatment notes shows the Veteran injured his back while loading pallets during ACDUTRA in September 2005, and failed to address the Veteran's lay statements.
- Claimed conditions
- sciatica, lumbar sprain, degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, degenerative changes of the left knee, mild degenerative arthropathy of the right knee, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) of the left upper extremity, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) of the right upper extremity, acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2024
- Citation
- A24072013
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 Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a duty to assist error, requiring further examination and review of private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as it is unclear whether the Veteran's claimed conditions are due to any incident of his period of active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the Veteran's award of service-connected compensation for headaches and remanded claims for increased rating, service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, right shoulder disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including herniation and bulging disk L4 through S1, knee pain with osteoarthritis, an acquired psychiatric disorder, cubital tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, and neuropathy. However, the Board granted a 30 percent evaluation for chronic headaches.
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