The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to inadequate examination reports and need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The examiner did not provide an adequate opinion on whether the Veteran's lumbar spine and knee disabilities are secondary to his service-connected cervical spine and left shoulder disabilities, or if they were caused by a conceded in-service injury. The examiner also did not address the effect of the in-service injury on the current conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Degenerative joint disease of both knees
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2013
- Citation
- 1325516
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 1325516.
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 Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his low back disability is being remanded due to the reduction in evaluation from 40 percent to 20 percent effective May 31, 2014. The RO needs to provide updated VA treatment records and schedule a VA examination to determine the current severity of the disability.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical strain with spinal fusion is rated at 20 percent, and the Board denied an increased rating.,The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is rated at 20 percent, and the Board denied an increased rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings were denied as he failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause, and the evidence did not show an increase in severity of his service-connected conditions.
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