The Veteran's thoracic spine disability, including a vertebral stress fracture with T10 damage, is being remanded for further development as the service treatment records are unavailable and an examination is needed to determine if it is related to his reported in-service injury.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be established without evidence of a current disability that is related to service. Given the absence of service treatment records, a VA examination is required to assess whether any current thoracic spine disorder is related to the Veteran's reported in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic spine disability, fusion of T1-2 and T6-7, multi-level thoracic spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), vertebral stress fracture with T10 damage
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2018
- Citation
- 1810459
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 1810459.
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 has remanded the case due to the need for further development and consideration of the appellant's theory that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his obesity, which contributed to his death.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected migraines are granted, and her thoracic spine disability is rated at 20 percent. The rating for the thoracic spine disability remains unchanged as there is no evidence of flexion limited to 30 degrees or less.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of bilateral hearing loss, thoracic spine disability, radicular pain of the right upper extremity, and radicular pain of the left upper extremity as withdrawn by the Veteran. The appeal is also REMANDED for a VA medical opinion on the claim of service connection for headaches.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical, lumbar, and thoracic spine disabilities due to a lack of VA examination. The Veteran is advised to provide any missing records and undergo VA examinations.
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