The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder, to include degenerative arthritis of the spine with intervertebral disc syndrome and spinal stenosis/spondylolisthesis due to an inadequate VA etiology opinion.
The deciding factor: The December 2020 VA etiology opinion is based on inaccurate factual premises and does not adequately address the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of his symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the spine with intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal stenosis/spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25041434
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,432 · Granted: 29% (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 A25041434.
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 degenerative arthritis of the spine with intervertebral disc syndrome was granted service connection as it is at least as likely as not secondary to his in-service injury.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings and TDIU have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings on multiple service-connected conditions have been dismissed as the appellant has withdrawn his appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on unemployability (TDIU) from November 5, 2008, to October 18, 2011, from January 1, 2012, to October 23, 2012, from February 1, 2013, to February 23, 2014, and from April 1, 2015, to March 10, 2024.
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