The Veteran's service treatment records are missing, and the Board is unable to determine if he had a back injury or surgery during service. The VA will attempt to obtain additional medical records from Fort Richardson and provide notification of their attempts. A VA examination will be scheduled to assess whether his current back disorder may be related to service.
The deciding factor: The missing service treatment records prevent the Board from determining if the Veteran had a back injury or surgery during service, which is necessary for establishing service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2012
- Citation
- 1219477
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 1219477.
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 Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining medical records and for an additional medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection, but his right ear hearing loss and back disorder claims are remanded for further evaluation.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for a back disorder as new and relevant evidence was not received, despite previous denials.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining service records and providing an adequate examination. The Veteran's back disorder claim will be reconsidered with these issues addressed.
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