The Board is remanding the case for further development due to a lack of compliance with previous remand directives.
The deciding factor: The May 2014 VA examiner did not provide an opinion regarding the Veteran's degenerative joint disease, which was raised in his claim. The examiner only addressed cervical spine arthritis and failed to address the Veteran's self-reported medical history that conflicted with service treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the cervical spine, Degenerative Disc Disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2014
- Citation
- 1449463
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 1449463.
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 Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervicalgia and headaches due to a lack of a VA examination, as well as insufficient evidence regarding service connection.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for DDD of the cervical spine, left arm radiculopathy, right arm radiculopathy, left leg radiculopathy, and right leg radiculopathy. Service connection was also granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and major neurocognitive disorder).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding his claims for Hepatitis C and cervical spine DJD. The VA will need to ensure that the file contains all relevant records, including updated treatment records.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted, and he is assigned a 20% rating for his cervical spine disability effective November 29, 2004. The Veteran's claim for higher ratings for the cervical spine disorder from June 20, 2007 to present is denied.
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