The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran, which includes a letter from the Department of the Army verifying his involvement in a helicopter crash during active service. The VA examiner's opinion is inadequate as it relied on an inaccurate factual predicate.
The deciding factor: The January 2014 VA examiner's opinion was based on an inaccurate factual predicate regarding the Veteran's involvement in a helicopter crash, which has been verified by new evidence from the Department of the Army.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2014
- Citation
- 1436738
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 1436738.
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 Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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