The Board remands the claim for service connection for residuals of fractured T 7 & T 8 ribs on the left side to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's in-service injury and current thoracic spinal pathology.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examiner provided conflicting statements, necessitating further clarification through an addendum opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of fractured T 7 & T 8 ribs on the left side, degenerative changes in the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0908159
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (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 0908159.
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 Veteran's lumbar and thoracic spine conditions are being remanded for further evaluation due to inadequate previous examination.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's thoracic spine disability warrants a 20 percent rating, as per the current schedular criteria.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine if the veteran's current back disability is related to service and, if so, whether it was caused or aggravated by his service-connected left inguinal hernia.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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