The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to accurately reflect the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Status Post Cervical Spine Fusion, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine, Right Shoulder Tendinopathy, Left Shoulder Tendinopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2015
- Citation
- 1521585
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 1521585.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's left shoulder tendinopathy did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 20 percent, as his range of motion was not limited to midway between side and shoulder level.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 30, 2006, onward. The Board granted a 20% disability rating for the period on appeal (not including any periods of convalescence) due to severe muscle spasm and guarding resulting in abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision denying service connection for OSA, claimed as secondary to service-connected psychiatric disorder and DDD of the lumbar spine, is flawed due to a failure to consider whether obesity was an intermediate step in the development of OSA. The case is being remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD symptoms more nearly approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating, warranting an increased rating.,Service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) and degenerative arthritis is remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record.,The Veteran's current employment status does not affect his entitlement to service connection for DDD and degenerative arthritis.
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