The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence to determine if the Veteran's current neck condition is related to his service or a service-connected low back condition. The Veteran needs an opinion from a medical examiner regarding whether the head injury in 1978 and/or the lumbar injuries caused or aggravated the cervical spine degeneration.
The deciding factor: The Board requires additional medical evidence to determine if the Veteran's neck condition is related to his service or a service-connected low back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- neck condition, cervical disc degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19117478
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (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 19117478.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied readjudication of the previously denied claims for service connection for migraines and a neck condition because new evidence submitted after the November 2018 rating decision was not relevant to proving or disproving the Veteran's claim.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a neck condition and a low back condition, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for neck and back conditions due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that a remand is necessary to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error prior to the October 2023 rating decision on appeal, and will readjudicate the claim after providing notice.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.