The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disorders, as well as radiculopathy of both lower extremities. The claims are being returned to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions were inadequate due to a lack of consideration of the Veteran's post-service treatment records and statements regarding his back pain since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine Disorder, Thoracolumbar Spine Disorder, Radiculopathy of the Left Lower Extremity, Radiculopathy of the Right Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101571
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (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 19101571.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is dismissed as the Veteran was granted service connection effective from the date of his claim.,Service connection for bilateral tinnitus is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, left shoulder disorders, right shoulder disorder, cervical spine disorder, left ankle disorder, allergic rhinitis, and bilateral knee disorders, prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and work history. The Board granted the TDIU claim based on these conditions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for discontinuance of TDIU, reduction of disability rating for acquired psychiatric disorder, and reduction of disability rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity due to lack of response from the Veteran within the required timeframe.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions provided in his VA examinations. The claims include tension headaches, a psychiatric disability (diagnosed as generalized anxiety disorder), a cervical spine disorder, hand tremors, a lumbosacral spine disorder, a gastrointestinal disorder, and residuals of a hydrocele.
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