The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, including a new VA examination that accurately addresses the medical evidence of record and considers whether the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology support a finding of a nexus between the in-service golf cart injury to the back and his present cervical and thoracic spine disorders.
The deciding factor: The Joint Motion found fault with the fact that the VA physician failed to address certain service medical reports and the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology, and requested another examination addressing these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine injury with degenerative disc disease, thoracic spine injury with degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0908210
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (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 0908210.
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 appeal is being remanded to obtain a new VA examination and to consider the possibility of additional private treatment records. The claim for an increased rating must be reconsidered with consideration of all pertinent evidence and legal authority.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical and thoracic spine injuries with degenerative disc disease, finding that the appellant's current conditions were not incurred or aggravated by his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for an adequate VA examination and opinion to determine if there is a 50 percent probability or greater that any currently diagnosed cervical spine disorder is etiologically related to service, including complaints of back pain therein. The appellant's reports of continuity of symptomatology in the thoracic and cervical spine region since service should be considered.
- 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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