The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy conditions, including during flare-ups and after repetitive use over time.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current medical opinions are inadequate as they did not address the ameliorative effects of medication or obtain additional lay evidence from the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, femoral nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2026
- Citation
- 26002379
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 26002379.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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