The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional service treatment records, confirm the Veteran's periods of active duty for training and inactive duty for training, and schedule the Veteran for an orthopedic VA examination. The Veteran will be provided with a supplemental statement of the case if his claim remains denied.
The deciding factor: The current VA examinations are inadequate as they did not consider whether the Veteran's current neck arthritis is related to his military service, including any in-service injuries such as a December 2002 diving injury. The Veteran also has provided lay statements indicating continuous pain since an in-service injury in 1996.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back, cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2015
- Citation
- 1507976
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 1507976.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for neck pain pinched nerve severe arthritis cervical spine is dismissed as a matter of law. Service connection and increased ratings are granted for major depression, mental disorder anxiety and PTSD, carpal tunnel syndrome (both wrists), and migraine including migraine variants.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings and service connection were withdrawn, and the appeal concerning a deferred evaluation for left ear hearing loss was dismissed due to a claims-processing error.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection on multiple conditions has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of your appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance due to his dementia, which is not service-connected.
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