The Veteran is seeking service connection for spinal cord injury, bilateral knee disorder, and bilateral leg disorder. The Board finds that additional development is needed to clarify the status of his VA disability claim and to verify all periods of active and inactive duty for training in the United States Naval Reserve.
The deciding factor: Clarification is needed regarding whether the Veteran had service connection previously granted for a back/spine disorder, as well as clarification on how he received VA medical identification cards describing him as service connected. Additionally, further development is required to determine if his spinal cord injury and knee/leg disorders are related to his active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- spinal cord injury, bilateral knee disorder, bilateral leg disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2009
- Citation
- 0938888
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 0938888.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disorder, gout, multiple painful joints, bilateral ankle disorder, bilateral knee disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating of 50 percent for major depressive disorder is granted. The claim for service connection for a bilateral leg disorder is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for various joint and musculoskeletal disorders, including bilateral hip and knee joint disorder, bilateral foot disorder, bilateral leg disorder, low back disorder, and neck disorder. The appeal is being remanded to obtain a new VA examination for tinnitus.
- Denied
The Board found no current disabilities of the bilateral legs or ankles and thus denied service connection for these conditions.
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