The claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded to ensure compliance with previous Board directives, including obtaining additional medical examinations.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to inadequate evidence regarding the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine disabilities and associated radiculopathy, as well as outstanding private treatment records that need to be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease, Left lower extremity (LLE) radiculopathy, Right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2025
- Citation
- 25005303
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 25005303.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial and subsequent claims for increased ratings for his back condition, LLE radiculopathy, and RLE radiculopathy have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent from March 12, 2014, to October 28, 2019.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals pertaining to effective dates for increased ratings of chronic lumbar strain and LLE radiculopathy, finding that the Veteran did not properly opt into the AMA system.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative disc disease and lower extremity radiculopathy, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation from August 1, 2013 to November 23, 2014. The Board granted TDIU for this period.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy but remanded the back disability claim for further development.
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