The Board has decided the appeal is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the Veteran's thoracic spine disorder and an in-service back injury. The case will be returned for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not diagnose a specific thoracic spine disability, which was based on inaccurate facts about an in-service motor vehicle accident (MVA).
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracic spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 16, 2015
- Citation
- 1539674
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1539674.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, a gastrointestinal disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and a thoracic spine disorder. The effective date for increased evaluations and new grants of service connection were also denied.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for herpes genitalia and remanded the claims for service connection for a right shoulder disorder, cervical spine disorder, and thoracic spine disorder.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disorder and remanded several other claims, including those for an acquired psychiatric disorder, headache, hypertension, cervical spine, thoracic spine, shin splints, foot disorders, and tinnitus.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and remanded claims for service connection for a left shoulder disorder, right knee disorder, and thoracic spine disorder.
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