The Board remands the matter for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's back condition, including whether it is related to service.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors regarding an adequate medical examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- lower lumbar pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25023447
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 785 · Granted: 47% (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 A25023447.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran's lower lumbar pain, left eye retinal scarring and loss of vision, right ankle bone spurs, left ankle bone spurs, and left wrist surgery are not adequately addressed due to a lack of VA medical examinations. The Board is therefore remanding these issues for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA medical opinions provided in connection with these claims are inadequate and remands them for further development, including obtaining a new VA examination and opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claim for her back disability is being remanded due to the need for further development and examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection as his lower lumbar pain was not shown to be related to military service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.