The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disc disease with degenerative changes of lumbar spine is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as the claims file does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claim regarding service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease with degenerative changes of lumbar spine, mid-back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 1, 2017
- Citation
- 1749272
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 1749272.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for mid-back pain to the AOJ for further development, including obtaining a new medical opinion.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all claims of service connection due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of clear and unmistakable error in the April 1994 rating decision that denied service connection for low back pain and mid-back pain. The decision was based on the lack of objective evidence of disability, despite the Veteran's reported symptoms.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for mid-back pain and left knee pain were previously denied in a May 1994 rating decision. New evidence was submitted, but it did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee disorder and bilateral foot disorder have been denied as there is no evidence showing these conditions are related to his military service.
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