The Board has remanded the claims for additional medical opinions and examinations to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected low back, left hip strain, left knee, and left lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities. The VA will provide new VA examinations to assess the extent of range of motion loss due to flare-ups and repetitive use.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous remands were not satisfied as they did not obtain necessary range of motion estimates for the Veteran's back, left hip strain, and left knee disabilities. The Board determined new VA examinations are needed to provide accurate account of his current disability pictures.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back degenerative disc disease (DDD), Left hip strain disability with limitation of flexion, Left hip strain disability with impairment of the thigh, Left knee chondromalacia status post arthroscopy for meniscal tear, Left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2025
- Citation
- 25000024
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 25000024.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease prior to August 1, 2025 was denied as the evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine.,The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to March 10, 2025 were denied as there is no neurological impairment associated with these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches and lumbar spine disability, as well as left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, were denied. The effective dates for these conditions are also denied.
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