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 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 A25025822.
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 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The Veteran's attorney has withdrawn the appeal, and thus the claims for increased ratings are dismissed.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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