The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is remanded due to a duty to assist error in the July 2018 VA medical opinion regarding whether his fall during a November 2017 VA sleep study caused an additional disability.
The deciding factor: The July 2018 VA medical opinion did not address whether the Veteran's reported fall during the November 2017 VA sleep study caused an additional disability to his lower back, and open medical questions remain that need to be resolved prior to adjudication by VA.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 24, 2019
- Citation
- A19001499
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 A19001499.
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 remands the claims for service connection for low back injury, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus to allow for further development of evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for low back injury, groin injury, arthritis (claimed as rib cage injury), and left side nerve damage (claimed as side injury) due to a lack of evidence supporting the claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's low back disability may be related to his active service, but needs further evidence before a decision can be made.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for a low back injury. The case is now remanded for further action, including obtaining a VA medical opinion.
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