The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a medical opinion regarding whether his current back disability existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service. The case must also be remanded because of the VA examiner's statements indicating that the requested opinion could not be answered without speculation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's entrance examination did not note any spine problems, which raises the presumption of soundness. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether a pre-service car accident caused his current back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2016
- Citation
- 1634034
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 1634034.
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 Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions as secondary to left ankle condition due to an improper concurrent election in a previous appeal.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the death of the Appellant, and no decision can be made on the underlying claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but the claims for back injury and radiculopathy of the right leg are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a back disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition began during his active service and has continued since then.
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