The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA orthopedic examination and readjudication of both service connection and educational benefits claims.
The deciding factor: The veteran's back injury and rib/vertebral fractures are being evaluated based on their direct relationship to his military service, rather than through any presumption or secondary theory.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of back injury, rib fractures, vertebral fractures
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2005
- Citation
- 0533452
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 0533452.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of back injury should be remanded due to a failure to provide a VA examination and medical opinion, which is necessary to determine if his current disability is related to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for scoliosis and remanded the issue of secondary service connection for lumbar spine disabilities other than scoliosis.
- Denied
The Board denied reopening the previously denied claims for rib fractures and lumbar spine disorder due to lack of new and material evidence.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities from May 13, 1991 through May 11, 2010 was denied. The effective date for the grant of basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 prior to May 12, 2010 was also denied.
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