The Veteran's claims for service connection for osteoporosis of the cervical spine and degenerative changes of the cervical spine, including as secondary to his service-connected impingement syndrome and multiple degenerative changes of the right shoulder and lumbar spine disorder, are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports and failure to provide a notice letter.
The deciding factor: The claims were not properly addressed due to insufficient medical opinions and lack of proper notification to the Veteran regarding his claim for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoporosis of the cervical spine, degenerative changes of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19129748
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 Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, right wrist sprain, left wrist disability manifested by pain, left foot arthritis, right foot arthritis and hallux valgus, headaches, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, degenerative changes of the cervical spine, right lateral epicondylitis (claimed as right arm disability), and left upper extremity cervical radiculopathy (claimed as left arm disability and left elbow disability).
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee patellofemoral syndrome and denied a disability rating in excess of 20 percent or 30 percent for the cervical spine. However, it granted a separate 10 percent disability rating for left knee instability and a 20 percent disability rating for degenerative changes of the cervical spine prior to November 18, 2015.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right shoulder, lumbosacral spine, right hip, and cervical spine degenerative arthritis based on new evidence. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, left wrist, and left forearm were remanded for further consideration.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a neck disability, finding no evidence of a chronic disease in service or continuous symptoms after service, and no direct link to any incident during active duty.
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