The Veteran's increased disability evaluation for his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine and severe scoliosis is being remanded due to a duty to assist error in prior examinations.
The deciding factor: The examination did not fully comply with the requirements set forth by Correia v. McDonald, which mandates testing for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, and with the range of the opposite undamaged joint.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, Severe scoliosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 18, 2019
- Citation
- A19002088
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine and cervical spine, finding that the evidence was approximately balanced as to whether these conditions were caused by an injury or event during active service.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, finding that August 10, 2023, is the earliest available date based on the Veteran's claim.
- Dismissed
The motion to reverse or revise a May 2018 Board of Veterans' Appeals decision on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) was dismissed as moot because the Court had already affirmed the Board's decision.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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