The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, degenerative disc disease L5-S1 with lumbar strain, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities. The issues include determining whether the cervical spine disability is caused or aggravated by her service-connected back disability, obtaining additional VA treatment records, and scheduling a new VA examination for the Veteran's back disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an adequate medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's cervical spine disability and her service-connected back disability was not provided in the previous examinations. Additionally, there may be outstanding relevant VA treatment records that need to be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine disability, degenerative disc disease L5-S1 with lumbar strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19119508
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19119508.
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 the claims of service connection for cervical spine and skin rash disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to a predecisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's past medical history needs to be considered in the new examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea and cervical spine disability due to potential service connection issues related to obesity, service-connected disabilities, and other factors.
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.