The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to insufficient evidence regarding his cervical spine disability and diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The VA opinions were based on a review of the claims file, history provided by the Veteran, physical examination, and did not rely solely on the Veteran’s lay statements or unsupported medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical strain, Degenerative disc disease, Cervical radiculopathy, Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19131183
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 Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as the evidence did not show that his service-connected disabilities alone were of such nature and severity to preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 20 percent rating for cervical strain from October 1, 2024, and denied compensable ratings for bilateral hearing loss, scars on both knees, upper extremity radiculopathies, and service connection for wrist disorders.
- Denied
The appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to a cervical spine disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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