The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a more contemporaneous medical examination to assess the severity of his thoracic spine disability, including any neurological manifestations and muscle symptomatology. The examiner should also provide an opinion as to whether these symptoms are part and parcel of or in any way result from the service-connected T4 burst fracture with neuropathic pain.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's appeal requires a more contemporaneous medical examination due to changes since his last VA examination, which may have affected the accuracy of the current rating assigned for his thoracic spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- T4 burst fracture with neuropathic pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2014
- Citation
- 1446343
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 1446343.
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 service-connected residuals of a T4 burst fracture with neuropathic pain are granted at a 20 percent rating from May 18, 2010 to November 23, 2020 and increased to 40 percent thereafter.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a new VA examination to assess the Veteran's back disability and its impact on his upper extremities. The examiner is requested to provide opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's back disability, whether he has a separately ratable neurological or muscle group injury as a manifestation of his service-connected T4 burst fracture with neuropathic pain, and the extent of any functional impairment during flare-ups.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the extent of his back disability and any related neurological or muscular symptoms. The AOJ should also obtain and associate with the claims file any outstanding treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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