The Board remands the claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease and associated radiculopathy, as the record does not include all relevant treatment records prior to back surgery.
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in failing to obtain complete medical records from all relevant treatment facilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), Left Lower Extremity Radiculopathy, Sciatic Nerve, Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy, Sciatic Nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25105945
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 A25105945.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is being remanded due to a failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in connection with her claim. The Board finds that this was a pre-decisional duty to assist error and requires rescheduling of the examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of August 7, 2023 for the grant of service connection for Degenerative Disc Disease and Intervertebral Disc Syndrome (also claimed as a back condition), and bilateral lower extremity sciatic neuropathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative disc disease is related to service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine disability and right upper extremity radiculopathy were denied increased evaluations. The TDIU claim was also denied prior to August 20, 2013.
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