The Board remands the claims for a back disorder, sciatica, and kidney stones to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions did not address the Veteran's lay statements regarding the relationship between his back pain, sciatica, and kidney stones and his service-connected left knee disabilities, constituting a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- back disorder, sciatica, kidney stones
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25037830
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.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeal for all service connection and rating issues, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these matters.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for pes planus (flat feet) and remanded several other issues, including service connection for various disorders and increased ratings for the right knee. The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right knee instability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmias, basal cell carcinoma, kidney stones, and COPD as the AOJ failed to substantially comply with prior remand directives.
- Dismissed
The Board denied the veteran's appeals for service connection due to untimely filings.
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