The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine whether the veteran's quadriplegia and other disabilities are related to a December 2002 VA cervical spine tumor resection surgery, including issues of informed consent and negligence.
The deciding factor: Additional medical opinions are required to address the existence and etiology of residuals from the 2002 surgery, as well as whether the veteran's additional disability was caused by or a reasonably foreseeable result of the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- quadriplegia, obesity, heart disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, right-sided weakness, head pain, neurogenic bladder, neurogenic bowel, cognitive dysfunction, pseudomeningocele
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2008
- Citation
- 0830182
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 0830182.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
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