The Board has remanded the case for additional development to determine if the veteran's current thoracic spine condition is related to his service, including obtaining records of his VA treatment and having a specialist review his medical history.
The deciding factor: The examiner will need to assess whether the compression deformity at T7 or T11 is consistent with an injury such as the one that occurred in service and determine the correct level and extent of any spinal disorders, including degenerative changes.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disease of the thoracic spine, compression deformity at T7 or T11
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0921603
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 0921603.
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 found that the veteran's back disability is not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right ankle disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disease of the thoracic spine, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated in service and is not proximately due to his service-connected residuals of gunshot wound, Muscle Group II, with compound comminuted fracture of the sternum.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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