The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back condition and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, secondary to a back condition, due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The June 2024 VA examination opinion was found inadequate as it discounted the Veteran's reports based solely on the lack of documentation in service treatment records without considering competent lay reports and failed to address the Veteran's assertions regarding his back condition during service.
- Claimed conditions
- back condition, left lower extremity radiculopathy, secondary to a back condition, right lower extremity radiculopathy, secondary to a back condition
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25051812
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 earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and granted initial 40 percent ratings for left upper extremity CTS, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's award of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted effective from April 15, 2017, solely based on his unspecified anxiety disorder. The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) housebound status, but dismissed the claims for initial ratings in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted initial disability ratings of 40 percent for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, a 20 percent rating for lumbar spine disability, denied an increased rating for obstructive sleep apnea with asthma, granted TDIU from May 7, 2021, and SMC from September 10, 2021.
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