The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a back disability, but has remanded it due to insufficient evidence regarding its etiology and whether it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide sufficient rationale in their March 2016 opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran’s current back disability and his active service or whether it was caused by his service-connected bilateral knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2018
- Citation
- 18143667
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 18143667.
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 determined that the VA rating decision denying service connection for a right knee disability and a back disability is not supported by adequate medical opinions, and thus remands the case for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection of a left knee disability, back disability, and left elbow disability must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran provided lay reports of symptoms but the VA examiners did not consider these reports in their conclusions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for right eye, left eye, left knee, and back disabilities due to conflicting statements from the Veteran and inconsistencies in his medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and that the current condition is not related to service.
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