The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's low back strain is directly related to his service-connected cervical spine disability or if it was caused by some other incident of service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's mechanical lumbar spine strain had its onset during military service or was caused by a specific incident of service, as required under McLendon v. Nicholson.
- Claimed conditions
- low back strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 19, 2010
- Citation
- 1026839
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 1026839.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to follow and secure substantially gainful employment, thus a total disability rating for individual unemployability is granted.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for left knee patellar femoral syndrome, right knee patellar femoral syndrome, low back strain, and right hip bursitis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, but granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coccyx chronic pain/residuals of fracture, low back strain, and bilateral hearing loss as the probative evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or due to active service.
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