The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for low back disability prior to July 30, 2020, due to an inadequate VA examination and failure to provide adequate reasons or bases for its decision.
The deciding factor: The November 2024 VA medical opinion is found inadequate as it did not provide retrospective estimates of range-of-motion loss during flare-ups and on repeated use over time, based on the January 2018 VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2025
- Citation
- 25002076
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 705 · Granted: 38% (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 25002076.
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.
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The Board found that the reduction of the Veteran's VA compensation benefits to a 5% rate effective November 1, 2016 was proper due to his incarceration for more than 60 days following conviction of a felony offense. The appeal is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an effective date of January 6, 2022, for assignment of a TDIU was granted.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's cervical strain, right knee flexion and extension, and low back disabilities but granted a separate 10 percent rating for instability in the right ankle.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for low back, right hip/thigh, and right knee disabilities due to chronic residuals of multiple orthopedic injuries sustained during military service.
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