The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions provided prior to the August 2020 rating decision. The AOJ must obtain updated medical opinions addressing the Veteran's claimed conditions and their relationship to his military service.
The deciding factor: Insufficient rationale in previous medical opinions prevented a determination of whether the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease L4-5, Left shoulder impingement syndrome with degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2026
- Citation
- A26014545
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 A26014545.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his lumbar spine disability and related nerve radiculopathy issues has been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support an increased rating based on unfavorable ankylosis or IVDS with incapacitating episodes.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was granted a 40 percent rating prior to December 30, 2019 and denied any increase in rating from that date. The decision is based on the current manifestations of his service-connected degenerative disc disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease L5-S1 and L4-5, finding that the Veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his in-service back injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for low back pain and TDIU due to incomplete records, including those from June 2018. A VA examination is needed to assess the current severity of his service-connected low back disability.
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