The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims, including obtaining private medical records and providing an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of his hip and spine disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that there are outstanding issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, specifically regarding the nature and etiology of his diagnosed right and left hip and lumbar spine disabilities. The claims file must be updated with any relevant private medical records and an addendum opinion from a VA clinician is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with degenerative disc disease L3-L4, Status post-total right hip arthroplasty, Left hip disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 9, 2015
- Citation
- 1524530
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 1524530.
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 Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including low back, left hip, right hip, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities. The VA examinations did not provide adequate opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's bladder cancer, hypertension, Bowen's disease (skin condition), thyroid condition (hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism), back disability, left hip disability, osteopenia/osteoporosis, and right foot vascular disorder are all granted as presumptively related to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities are also found to be secondary to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for thoracolumbar spine disability and left hip disability due to inadequate medical opinions in the original decision. The claims will be reconsidered with new medical opinions.
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