The Veteran's appeal is remanded for an adequate medical opinion to determine the severity of his service-connected cervical spine disability and whether it warrants a rating in excess of 20 percent from September 1, 2013.
The deciding factor: The need for an adequate medical opinion without resorting to speculation due to insufficient knowledge of the examiner or lack of general medical knowledge.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2018
- Citation
- 18148735
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 18148735.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate opinions regarding whether his service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his claimed conditions. The issues include sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, multilevel degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, basal cell carcinoma, and bilateral hearing loss.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is rated at 10 percent, effective January 2, 2018. The claim for an increased rating in excess of 10 percent remains denied.,Right upper extremity radiculopathy associated with cervical spine disability was not granted a separate rating as the evidence did not support such a finding.,The Veteran's chronic strain of the thoracic and lumbosacral spine with degenerative arthritis and deformity of coccyx is rated at 20 percent, effective January 24, 2017 to December 10, 2019. The claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent remains denied.,The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 20 percent from December 11, 2019 onwards. The claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent remains denied.,Right lower extremity radiculopathy associated with chronic strain of the thoracic and lumbosacral spine was not granted a separate rating as the evidence did not support such a finding.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus is not service-connected as it did not begin during active service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.,The Veteran’s bilateral pes planus does not warrant a compensable rating as her symptoms are relieved by orthotic inserts.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is seeking service connection for a cervical spine disability and an increased rating for his right ankle disability. These claims are being remanded to obtain updated VA treatment records, as well as a new VA examination.
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