The Board has determined that the Veteran's cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities are secondary to his service-connected shoulder disabilities. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is also being remanded for further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion regarding whether the Veteran’s psychiatric disability is related to his service-connected shoulder disabilities or any other factors, such as uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Acquired psychiatric disability (including mood disorder not otherwise specified and major depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18128414
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 18128414.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
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