The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, as well as a claim for special home adaptation, due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The May 2022 VA examination reports were deemed inadequate, leading to the conclusion that the reductions in ratings were void ab initio.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral spine multilevel spondylosis, bilateral lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, right lower extremity femoral radiculopathy, left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, left lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25048149
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 a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for various disabilities, including PTSD with other specified depressive disorder and multiple wrist and finger pain conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and denied increased ratings for various disabilities, but granted a separate rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy from October 20, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining a retrospective medical opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's service-connected conditions without the use of pain medication and securing the credentials of the VA examiners.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.