The veteran is seeking service connection for a chronic low back disorder, which he claims was caused by an injury during his military service. The Board has ordered additional development to determine the nature and etiology of any diagnosed low back disability and whether it had its onset during service.
The deciding factor: The claim requires further examination to determine if the veteran's current low back condition is related to service or pre-existed service.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back disorder, residuals of an injury, spina bifida occulta
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0625418
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0625418.
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 service connection for spina bifida occulta (claimed as low back condition or back) was denied because he failed to report for a required VA examination without good cause, and the criteria for direct service connection were not met.
- Denied
The Veteran's child is denied benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1805 for spina bifida because the diagnosis of spina bifida occulta does not meet the criteria.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran's service connection claim for spina bifida occulta with degenerative arthritis and osteopenia is remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature of his pre-existing condition.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for thoracolumbar strain, finding that it began in service and is related to his military service.
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