The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran should be afforded VA examinations to determine the etiology of her thoracolumbar spine disorder, cervical spine disorder, bilateral knee disorders, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: There was a failure to obtain VA examinations prior to adjudicating the Veteran's claims for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar spine disorder, Cervical spine disorder, Right knee disorder, Left knee disorder, Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2019
- Citation
- A19001687
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 the veteran's claims for annual clothing allowances for a left knee sleeve, A&D ointment, hydrocortisone cream, and incontinence briefs due to lack of service connection or evidence that these items cause irreparable damage to outer garments.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for allergic rhinitis and remanded the claims for cervical spine, hip, thigh, and hip extension disorders for further development.
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