The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his thoracic spine disability is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has not been provided with an adequate VA examination that includes range of motion findings and flare-ups as required by recent court decisions.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19130944
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 Veteran's claim for SMC at the R-1 or R-2 level is remanded due to outstanding VA and non-VA treatment records. The AOJ should also issue an SOC regarding the L-level SMC claim based on loss of use of the left and right feet.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for left hip osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, and degenerative joint disease of the thoracic spine as they are not attributable to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal was remanded for the veteran to be scheduled for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, degenerative joint disease of the thoracic spine, and degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar from December 8, 2006.
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