The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and service connection due to pre-decisional errors by the AOJ in violation of the duty to assist.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports included inaccurate factual premises, which violated the duty to assist, necessitating a complete remand.
- Claimed conditions
- Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) of the thoracolumbar spine with L5-S1 foraminal disc protrusion, Residuals of right knee meniscal tear with instability, One surgical scar at the right knee, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Total disability due to individual unemployability based upon service-connected disorders
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2025
- Citation
- A25023760
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 Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The appeal for higher ratings and effective dates for various conditions was denied, with the exception of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy which were granted an earlier effective date.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted a 30 percent rating, while the lumbar and lower extremity radiculopathy claims are denied. An earlier effective date for right lower extremity radiculopathy was granted, and TDIU based on single service-connected disability is remanded.
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