The Board remands the claim for service connection for lumbar strain with disc disease to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically to obtain workman's compensation records and an adequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to a lack of evidence in the service treatment records and inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's lumbar strain with disc disease.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25030552
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,890 · Granted: 32% (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 A25030552.
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 Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability. The TDIU claim will also be reviewed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination and the provision of updated medical records. The issues of increased evaluation for lumbar spine disability and TDIU are inextricably intertwined.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's service records and VA treatment records, as well as to provide him with corrective VCAA notice regarding his hypertension claim. The Veteran will also be scheduled for examinations to determine the current nature and severity of his lumbar strain with disc disease and decreased sensation right lower extremity associated with his lumbar strain with disc disease, as well as the etiology of his hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar strain with disc disease and lumbosacral spondylolisthesis, finding that he did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 40 percent prior to October 15, 2001 or a rating in excess of 60 percent.
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