The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to conflicting medical opinions. The VA examiner is requested to provide a new opinion regarding whether these conditions are related to her May 2010 injury in service.
The deciding factor: Conflicting medical opinions require further examination and evaluation to determine the relationship between the Veteran's current diagnoses and her claimed injuries from service.
- Claimed conditions
- Disc disease of the cervical spine, Multilevel degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19107010
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
Service connection for PTSD is granted. The Veteran's service-connected disc disease of the lumbar spine with hemangiolipoma of the thoracic spine and cervical spine are remanded for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical examination to determine if the Veteran's current neck strain is related to his in-service activities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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