The Board remands the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain with minimal anterior subluxation L3/L4, and for initial compensable ratings for left hip strain with limitation of extension and abduction. The TDIU claim is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that a medical examination to determine the functional impact of flareups is necessary due to discrepancies between the Veteran's statements and the July 2022 VA examinations, as well as guidance from Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017).
- Claimed conditions
- Left hip strain with limitation of abduction, Left hip strain with limitation of extension, Lumbosacral strain with minimal anterior subluxation L3/L4
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2025
- Citation
- A25039101
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 869 · Granted: 44% (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 A25039101.
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 Board denied service connection for TBI and higher ratings for various conditions but remanded decisions on the effective date for left lower extremity radiculopathy and rating for IVDS.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been reopened, and the Board has granted a separate 20 percent rating for left knee cartilage impairment. The issues of service connection for low back disability, right ankle disability, psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD), and TDIU are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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