The November 25, 2025, Board of Veterans' Appeals decision that remanded the issue of entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome…

Citation Nr: 26001431 Decision Date: 01/30/26 Archive Date: 01/30/26 DOCKET NO. 12-32 620 DATE: January 30, 2026 ORDER The November 25, 2025, Board of Veterans' Appeals decision that remanded the issue of entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome is vacated. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Board of Veterans' Appeals issued a decision on March 13, 2025, denying a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome. 2. The November 25, 2025, Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, remanding the claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome was issued in error, and it violates the general right to only one review of an appeal to the Secretary. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for vacatur of the November 25, 2025, Board of Veterans' Appeals decision, that remanded the claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome, are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7103(c), 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from June 1972 until his honorable discharge in May 1976. This appeal has been advanced on the Board of Veterans' Appeals' (Board) docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7107(b) and 38 C.F.R. § 20.902(c), (d). Procedural History A March 14, 2011, Rating Decision, issued by a Regional Office of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded the Veteran service connection for chronic lumbar muscle strain (currently diagnosed as intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS)). The VA Regional Office assigned an initial 10 percent disability rating effective April 7, 2010. The Veteran timely appealed the assigned rating to the Board. In an April 14, 2022, Board decision, the Board remanded the claim for an increased rating for IVDS in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, to the VA Regional Office for additional development. Following the development on remand, the Board issued a decision on April 24, 2024, denying a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017. It also awarded a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective April 4, 2017. And it remanded the claim of entitlement to TDIU prior to April 4, 2017. The Veteran appealed the Board's denial of a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to a Joint Motion for Partial Remand submitted by the parties at the Court, the Court entered an order on January 31, 2025, vacating the Board's decision on that specific matter and remanding that claim to the Board for readjudication. When the appeal returned to the Board, the Veteran submitted a motion to extend the time to file additional evidence and/or argument on March 4, 2025, based on a good-cause argument. Prior to ruling on the Veteran's motion, the Board issued a decision on March 13, 2025, denying an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected IVDS. And the Board granted TDIU benefits effective April 7, 2010. On March 27, 2025, the Board granted the Veteran's request for an extension of time to submit evidence and/or argument following the Court's remand. That decision created some confusion because the Board had already issued a decision on the matters on March 13, 2025. On July 9, 2025, after the time period request by the extension passed, the Board issued a decision remanding the claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected IVDS. Following development, the Board issued another decision on November 25, 2025, again remanding the claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected IVDS. For reasons explained next, the pending claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected IVDS, is invalid, which requires vacatur of the July 9, 2025, remand order and the November 25, 2025, remand order. Two separate decisions will be issued addressing the respective Board orders. Vacatur The Board may vacate a prior Board decision at any time on the Board's own motion. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1000. Although the instant situation is not specifically defined within the applicable regulation as a basis for vacatur, the Board finds that it is required to do so by law to avoid more than one adjudication on appeal of the same claim. See Hickson v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 394, 399?400 (2010). As explained above, the Board denied the claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 4, 2017, for service-connected IVDS, in the March 13, 2025, decision. That was the first decision issued by the Board resolving the matter prior to the issuance of the July 9, 2025, and November 25, 2025, remand orders. The Veteran was entitled to appeal from the March 13, 2025, decision, or seek reconsideration, which he has not done to date. Accordingly, the November 25, 2025, Board decision must be vacated as it violates the established right to one review on appeal to the Secretary. Id. M. Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J.F. Sawka, Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.