The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) for the period prior to September 17, 2013, and a rating in excess of 40 percent for the same condition from September 17, 2013, as additional medical evidence is needed.
The deciding factor: The August 2024 VA examiner did not conduct passive ROM testing due to safety concerns, which resulted in an inadequate opinion. The Board finds that another remand is necessary for addendum opinions from the December 2012 and December 2019 examiners addressing passive and weight-bearing ROM testing.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2025
- Citation
- 25005117
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · 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 25005117.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals as untimely due to failure to file a proper Notice of Disagreement within one year from the date of the March 2019 rating decision.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back condition, diagnosed as lumbar strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), is etiologically related to his service and grants entitlement to service connection.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for GERD, to include as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and denied increased ratings for chronic sinusitis, bilateral plantar fasciitis with heel bone spurs, lumbar strain with IVDS, left knee limitation of flexion, and remanded claims for vertigo.
- Granted
The Board granted effective dates of April 15, 2020, for service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral ankle sprain, and lumbar strain with IVDS.
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