The Board has remanded the case for a new VA spine examination to determine if the Veteran's low back disability is related to his military service. The Veteran's claim will be reviewed again after this examination.
The deciding factor: The April 2009 VA examination report was not adequate for rating purposes and did not address the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service trauma and symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with spina bifida occulta
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2011
- Citation
- 1106660
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 1106660.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to address the Veteran's reported in-service injury and the lack of service treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case to the RO for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing VCAA notice. The issues of service connection for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with spina bifida occulta and whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim for bilateral pes planus are pending.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with spina bifida occulta and for bilateral pes planus. The claim for bilateral pes planus was also denied as new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen it.
- 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.
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