The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), right hip radicular pain, and left hip radicular pain to ensure that due process is followed and there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claims.
The deciding factor: The June 2024 VA examination was inadequate as it failed to adequately discuss the Veteran's lay contentions regarding an in-service onset of low back pain with persistent and worsening symptoms thereafter, and no etiological opinion was provided.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip radicular pain (hip radicular pain causing femoral nerve issues and numbness in left foot), lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), right hip radicular pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25039879
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,874 · Granted: 33% (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 A25039879.
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 claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to a duty to assist error in the initial rating decision. The VA examiner is requested to provide an addendum opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with IVDS without considering the ameliorative effects of medication, and to provide a retrospective opinion on its severity during the period from October 1, 2011, to October 4, 2023.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating of 40 percent for lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) is denied, as there is no evidence showing the disability has most closely approximated IVDS with incapacitating episodes or forward flexion limited to 30 degrees during the past 12 months.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and initial ratings for his service-connected disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional development of evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral shoulder conditions, lumbosacral strain with IVDS, and bilateral hip conditions to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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