The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of the thoracolumbar spine or left leg, and therefore cannot establish service connection for these conditions. The cervical spine condition is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding its etiology.
The deciding factor: The medical records do not support the presence of a current disability in either the thoracolumbar spine or left leg that can be attributed to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar spine condition (claimed as an upper/lower spine condition), Left leg pain, Cervical spine condition (claimed as cervical spine compression), Loss of visual acuity, Neuropathy of left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19117680
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · 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 19117680.
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 remands the claims for further development, including obtaining private medical records and updated TERA opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The remaining issues of service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, left leg pain, and facial scars are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), headache disorder, left leg pain, tingling in the left foot, low back disorder, bilateral foot swelling, and sinus disorder.,Service connection was not granted for any of the claimed conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's TDIU claim was denied because the earliest effective date that can be assigned is August 31, 2016. The Veteran did not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU prior to this date.
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