The Board remands the claims for service connection for right hip arthroplasty, left hip arthroplasty, and lumbar spine degenerative disc disease status post laminectomy with residual pain to obtain additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The AOJ did not obtain adequate etiology opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions, which constitutes a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- right hip arthroplasty (claimed as bilateral hip condition), left hip arthroplasty (claimed as bilateral hip condition), lumbar spine degenerative disc disease status post laminectomy with residual pain (claimed as low back condition to include arthritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044597
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.
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- Granted
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