The Board is remanding the claims for a new examination to provide an adequate statement of reasons or bases regarding whether higher disability ratings are warranted.
The deciding factor: The Board erred by providing an inadequate statement of reasons and or bases for denying higher disability ratings, as VA examinations found guarding or muscle spasms that resulted in abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour, and the terms 'moderate' and 'marked' were not properly defined prior to February 7, 2021.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine spondylosis and lumbar spine strain (lumbar spine disability), right ankle strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2025
- Citation
- 25008246
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 a right ankle strain, finding that the Veteran's current condition is etiologically related to an in-service right ankle sprain.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 20 percent for left and right ankle strains, denied a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, and remanded claims for hypertension and gout.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence that it met a compensable level during the period on appeal.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and initial increased ratings for various conditions, as well as remanded several issues for further development.
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