The Board remands the claims for service connection for left hip and low back pain due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to provide adequate medical examinations, leading to a decision based on incomplete evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip pain, low back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25041913
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 Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, left and right hip pain, right knee degenerative arthritis, generalized anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left shoulder disability and GERD on a secondary basis, but denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for bilateral hip pain, DEA benefits, and other issues.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and initial ratings were dismissed due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) being filed more than one year after the November 2022 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
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