The Board has ordered additional development to obtain the veteran's service medical records and verify his periods of active duty for training. The case will be remanded for further examination and opinion regarding the etiology of any low back disorder found to be present.
The deciding factor: Further investigation is needed to determine if the veteran's current low back disorders are related to military service, including obtaining missing service medical records and verifying his periods of active duty for training.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with L-5 spondylolysis, spina bifida occulta
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2006
- Citation
- 0635996
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 0635996.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1805 and § 1815, finding that she does not have a form or manifestation of spina bifida other than spina bifida occulta, and her mother is not a Vietnam Veteran.
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