The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to May 5, 2023, and a rating in excess of 40 percent on and after May 5, 2023, for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis due to the need for a more thorough medical examination.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the current VA lumbar spine examination is inadequate as it was conducted by a nurse practitioner rather than a medical doctor and does not provide sufficient detail regarding the Veteran's range of motion, pain, and functional loss.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis, arteriosclerotic heart disease with atypical chest pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2025
- Citation
- 25001997
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 918 · Granted: 32% (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 25001997.
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 service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis, left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis, hypertension, constipation, and bilateral hypertensive retinopathy. The Veteran's skin condition is considered part of the service connection for fungal onychomycosis, tinea pedis and hyperkeratosis.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis is at least as likely as not related to his active service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the issues of service connection for a recurrent heart disability and rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis due to non-compliance with previous remand instructions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for his lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with spondylolisthesis as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.
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