The Board remands the case to provide the Veteran with a VA examination to determine the current severity of his lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The previous examination was inadequate and did not consider the Veteran's pertinent medical history, as well as the functional equivalent of ankylosis during flare-ups or after repeated use over time.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar spine condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 1, 2025
- Citation
- 25008659
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 an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy but denied a higher rating for the lumbar spine condition and remanded service connection for knee condition.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and remanded the claims for PTSD, lumbar spine condition, left knee condition, right knee condition, left foot condition, and right foot condition due to a lack of evidence supporting their direct or secondary relationship to the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, while remanding the claims for a lumbar spine condition, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral hip disorders.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, headache disorder, lumbar spine condition, and respiratory condition as there is no probative evidence that the Veteran has a current disability for any of these conditions.
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