The Board has remanded the case due to unclear opinions regarding arthritis and aggravation of disc disease. The claim will be returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The examiner's report is unclear on whether arthritis refers to a separate condition or part of degenerative disc disease, and there is no opinion on aggravation of disc disease.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the thoracolumbar spine, arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2014
- Citation
- 1406264
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 1406264.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and arthritis of the cervical spine, attributing these conditions to a motor vehicle accident in 1977 during active service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's symptoms were consistent with known facts and circumstances of service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an annual clothing allowance for the 2020 calendar year, for an ankle brace but denied allowances for left and right knee braces, a back brace, and diclofenac gel.
- Granted
The veteran's rating for back disability was restored to 40 percent because the evidence did not show improvement during flare-ups.
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