The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for the Veteran's back disability and lower extremity radiculopathy due to insufficient information regarding the baseline severity of his conditions when discounting the beneficial effects of medication.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary as there is insufficient information to evaluate the Veteran's spinal stenosis, degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease other than IVDS, lumbosacral strain, thoracic spine scoliosis, and muscle spasm of the back in accordance with the criteria of Diagnostic Code 5242-5238 due to the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Claimed conditions
- spinal stenosis, degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease other than intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), lumbosacral strain, thoracic spine scoliosis, muscle spasm of the back, right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral nerve), left lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2025
- Citation
- 25006040
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 granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right leg sciatica with radiculopathy pain and paresthesia, but denied increased ratings for PTSD, lumbosacral strain, left wrist limitation of motion with ganglion cyst, and service connection for headaches, unspecified. Several issues were remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
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