The Board remands the claims for further development and to obtain additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The examinations obtained did not contain a retrospective opinion or discussion of the evidence from July 16, 2006 to present, as required by the previous Board remand instructions.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity sciatic nerve, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity femoral nerve, Lumbar spondylosis associated with right knee degenerative arthritis with patellofemoral syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2025
- Citation
- 25004701
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 service connection for radiculopathy of the right upper and lower extremities but denied an increased rating for functional abdominal pain syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and associated radiculopathy due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the severity of the conditions during flare-ups and after repetitive use, discounting the ameliorative effects of medications.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of July 29, 2022, and no earlier for the grant of a 20 percent disability rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine and intervertebral disc syndrome, as well as service connection for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremity femoral nerves, an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for degenerative arthritis of the spine with status post lumbar discectomy, an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for limitation of motion of the left ankle, and remanded service connection for limitation of motion of the right ankle.
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