The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and a VA examination to determine if the appellant now has a disability of the lumbar spine that may be related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were missing service medical treatment records due to a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) and that the appellant's back condition began within two years after he was discharged from service. The Board also noted that VA records could not be located, which supports the appellant's purported history of the back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar segment of the spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 29, 2009
- Citation
- 0920221
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 0920221.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a disability of the lumbar segment of the spine, finding that her current back condition was not caused by or related to her military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete development of evidence, including missing medical records and lack of examination opinions.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all appeals related to various disability ratings and effective dates for service connection, as the Veteran withdrew her appeal in its entirety.
- Denied
The VA has determined that there is no evidence to support the Veteran's claim of a lower back disability being incurred or aggravated during his active duty service. The Board found that the service medical records do not show any such injury and that the Veteran's current symptoms are not confirmed by the available medical evidence.
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