The Veteran is seeking service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and degenerative arthritis and spondylolysis of the thoracolumbar spine. The Board has remanded these claims due to a need to locate VA medical records from 1982-1993 and to attempt to obtain a nexus opinion from the identified VA physician who provided a verbal opinion on his back condition.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims are being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and attempting to locate the VA physician who provided a verbal opinion on his back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Degenerative arthritis and spondylolysis of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 10, 2012
- Citation
- 1230947
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 1230947.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities prior to October 22, 2008 are being remanded due to the need for additional retrospective medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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