The Board has denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability and remanded the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, other than a sleep disorder. The case is being returned to VA for further development.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current lumbar spine disability was not shown during service or within one year of discharge, and continuity of symptomatology has not been established. Service connection cannot be granted on a presumptive basis. For the psychiatric claim, an addendum opinion is needed to address whether the anxiety disorder is proximately caused by his service-connected tinnitus and/or sleep disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease and spondylosis of the lumbar spine, Acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18105369
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 18105369.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, right hip disability, and left hip disability are dismissed as the grant of service connection in the rating decisions represents a total grant of the benefits sought on appeal.,For the period prior to May 18, 2023, all increased disability rating claims for the Veteran's left knee disability, back disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and TDIU are dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety disorder) is rated at a 70 percent disability rating as of July 20, 2020. The effective date for this increased rating is also July 20, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety disorder, is granted. The issue of service connection for residuals of frostbite is remanded and the Veteran must be afforded a VA examination to determine if his current condition is related to service.
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