The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his thoracolumbar spine disability and to determine if there are any flare-ups or neurological impairment.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current examination was insufficient due to lack of range of motion testing in passive motion, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing conditions as per Correia v. McDonald (2016).
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, status post laminectomy L2-3 and spinal fusion L2-3
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2018
- Citation
- 1801639
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 1801639.
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 issue of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease due to a duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and found that new and relevant evidence had not been received to readjudicate the claims for left and right lower extremity stent placements in femoral arteries.
- Dismissed
The appeals for higher ratings of thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease and cervical spine degenerative joint disease were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased disability rating for the veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, finding that the criteria for a higher rating were not met.
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