The veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 and neck scarring, including as due to exposure to herbicide are being remanded for additional development.
The deciding factor: The Board believes that VA's duty to assist the veteran requires further examination and medical opinions regarding the relationship of his current conditions to service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease at L5-S1, neck scarring
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0405195
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,467 · Granted: 18% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0405195.
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
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his lumbosacral spine disability was dismissed because he requested and received permission to withdraw his scheduled Board hearing.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 30 percent for headaches, denied a higher rating for degenerative disc disease at L5-S1, and denied an increased rating for PTSD.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, finding that his symptoms began during his period of active service deemed as bad conduct and therefore not eligible for benefits.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cervical degenerative disc disease and degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 are found to be etiologically related to active service, with the Board granting entitlement to service connection.
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