The Veteran seeks service connection for a disability of the cervical spine, which he claims is related to his service-connected thoracolumbar spine. The Board has remanded this issue due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was unable to correlate the current disability of the cervical spine with the service-connected thoracolumbar spine or determine if it is caused by or aggravated by the service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2013
- Citation
- 1321325
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 1321325.
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 appeal for neck pain pinched nerve severe arthritis cervical spine is dismissed as a matter of law. Service connection and increased ratings are granted for major depression, mental disorder anxiety and PTSD, carpal tunnel syndrome (both wrists), and migraine including migraine variants.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings and service connection were withdrawn, and the appeal concerning a deferred evaluation for left ear hearing loss was dismissed due to a claims-processing error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for thoracolumbar spine and secondary service connection for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to the Veteran's active-duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate notice and an inadequately supported medical opinion, requiring further review of eligibility for PCAFC benefits based on need for personal care services related to service-connected conditions.
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