The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA orthopedic and neurologic examination to clarify his back diagnoses and determine whether his claimed cervical spine disability and radiculopathy of the upper and lower extremities are related to his service-connected ankylosing spondylitis.
The deciding factor: The appeal is being remanded due to the need for updated VA treatment records, a new orthopedic and neurologic examination, and further clarification regarding the Veteran's diagnoses and their relationship to his service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- ankylosing spondylitis, degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities, radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2010
- Citation
- 1028790
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 1028790.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of a 70 percent rating for PTSD and granted an effective date of May 31, 2004, but no earlier, for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
- Granted
The Board granted disability ratings of 40 percent for right shoulder impingement syndrome, 30 percent for left shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tear, and acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, 30 percent for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, 40 percent for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, and 30 percent for right knee patellar chondromalacia with degenerative arthritis, but not higher.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed as the Veteran did not express disagreement with any issue decided by the AOJ within the prior year.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for ankylosing spondylitis, finding that the evidence was at least in approximate balance as to whether the Veteran's condition had its onset during his active military service.
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