The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability is being remanded due to the need for additional examination and consideration of new evidence.
The deciding factor: Additional medical examination is required to assess the current severity of the Veteran's back disability, and new evidence may affect the determination of the appropriate rating.
- Claimed conditions
- traumatic arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, compression of the 11th and 12th dorsal and 1st lumbar vertebrae involving the costovertebral joint with severe degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 25, 2011
- Citation
- 1120268
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 1120268.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeals regarding service connection for chronic pain syndrome, an increased rating for traumatic arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, and initial disability ratings for radiculopathy of both lower extremities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for traumatic arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine is granted as it resulted from an injury during a period of inactive duty training (INACDUTRA).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and determining whether service connection criteria were met prior to the effective dates of the disabilities.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected back disability is currently evaluated as 20 percent disabling, and the Board finds that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic code.
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