The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of service connection for an upper back disorder, including cervical and/or thoracic spine issues, nerve disorders, and muscle disorders. The Veteran's representative requested clarification on the relationship between pre-service symptoms and current conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner needs to provide a supplemental report addressing whether the Veteran has any neurological disability of the upper back apart from that associated with intervertebral disc syndrome of the cervical spine, and if so, whether it is related to service. The examiner should also address the possibility that post-service muscle symptoms are related to dormant pre-service symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back disorder, nerve disorder, muscle disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19101564
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19101564.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection for low back and upper back disorders require further examination to determine their etiology.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder but denied service connection for an upper back disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a VA examination to address service connection and rating issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining additional VA treatment records and opinions addressing service connection theories.
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