The Board has determined that further development is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of any current disabilities, including those related to a broken sternum, injury to the coccyx, injury to the cervical spine, and thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis. The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional development is needed due to conflicting evidence regarding the nature and etiology of the disabilities in question.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a broken sternum, residuals of an injury to the coccyx, residuals of an injury to the cervical spine, thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19111723
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19111723.
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 Veteran's need for supervision, protection, or instruction on a continuous basis due to his service-connected disabilities has been determined, granting him an increased Level 2 stipend under the PCAFC program.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome with spinal stenosis, finding that his current lumbar spine disability is related to in-service low back pain.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lower back disability as secondary to his right knee degenerative arthritis and right ankle sprain, finding that there was no medical relationship between these conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical degenerative arthritis, cervical radiculopathy of both upper extremities, thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis, and lumbar radiculopathy of both lower extremities based on the evidence showing that these conditions began during and have continued since service.
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