The Board remands the claim for a VA examination and additional evidence development to determine if there is a nexus between any lower back disability and the Veteran's active service.
The deciding factor: A medical examination and opinion are necessary due to insufficient competent medical evidence on file to make a decision on the claim, as well as a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding the failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disability, claimed as lower back pain, lumbar disc prolapse with radiculopathy, spinal stenosis of the lumbar region, spondylolysis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25025822
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 237 · Granted: 39% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25025822.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's spondylolysis was granted a 40 percent rating from November 25, 2013 to October 26, 2023. The condition resulted in forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine being limited to 20 degrees during use over time.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's attorney has withdrawn the appeal, and thus the claims for increased ratings are dismissed.
- Denied
Service connection for sleep apnea was denied because the evidence did not show a relationship to service. An initial rating in excess of 10 percent for spondylolysis was also denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that it is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
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