The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA medical records and scheduling examinations for psychiatric, lumbar, and cervical spine disabilities. The Veteran is also required to complete a VA Form 21-8940.
The deciding factor: The Joint Motion requires that the Board provide adequate reasons or bases for whether the January 2014 Acceptable Clinical Evidence (ACE) examination was adequate for rating purposes because it failed to account for any possible progression of symptoms in the years since the Veteran's July 2008 psychiatric examination. The case is therefore being remanded for these examinations and development.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disability, Lumbar spine disability, Cervical spine disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2017
- Citation
- 1719711
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 1719711.
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 claim for an increased rating of his psychiatric disability was the initial decision, and thus attorney fees are not eligible based on past due benefits awarded in April 2025.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent, the maximum rating available under the General Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The evidence does not support a higher rating as his range of motion did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's psychiatric disability is currently rated at 30 percent, which is the lowest possible rating under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The Board found that his symptoms did not warrant a higher rating as they were intermittent and did not significantly impair his occupational or social functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's motion to revise the May 2013 rating decision that denied a TDIU, finding no clear and unmistakable error.
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