The reduction of the disability rating assigned to the Veteran's service-connected strain of the thoracic spine was improper and the 20 percent rating is restored, effective July 1, 2014.
The deciding factor: The AOJ reduced the disability rating without first obtaining an adequate VA examination report, which is required before reducing a disability rating.
- Claimed conditions
- strain of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2018
- Citation
- 18126293
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18126293.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial rating for a strain of the thoracic spine is being remanded due to insufficient information from an August 2017 VA examination regarding additional loss of range of motion during flare-ups.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran's initial 10 percent rating for thoracic spine strain is upheld.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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