The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for his service-connected degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine is being remanded due to inadequate examination and missing VA treatment records. A new examination will be scheduled to assess the severity of his back disability.
The deciding factor: The current examination did not comply with Correia v. McDonald requirements, and there are missing VA treatment records that may affect the assessment of the Veteran's condition.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18103651
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 18103651.
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 increased ratings and service connection as the appellant withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claim for a neck condition and increased rating claim for degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine were both denied. The Board found no evidence to support that his current conditions are related to his military service or other service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, as secondary to his service-connected disabilities, should be remanded due to insufficient opinions regarding whether his weight gain and obesity are caused or aggravated by his service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with previous directives, requiring a VA examination and medical opinion for an evaluation of the Veteran's service-connected degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine.
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