The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient reasoning in previous medical opinions and lack of follow-up on treatment for spine issues.
The deciding factor: Previous medical opinions did not provide sufficient reasoning to decide the claim one way or the other, and there is a need for clarification regarding the nature of congenital abnormalities and their relation to service.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disability, congenital abnormalities of the thoracolumbar spine, chronic muscular strain of thoracolumbar spine, spondylolisthesis of L4 on L5, wedge compression fracture of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19145398
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 service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability and a left shoulder disability as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the Veteran's award of service-connected compensation for headaches and remanded claims for increased rating, service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, right shoulder disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic sinusitis, fibromyalgia, and CFS. The Veteran's hearing loss, lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy, shoulder disability, knee meniscal tear, knee limitation of extension, knee scars, GERD, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and PTSD were also not rated higher than their current levels.
- Granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 30 percent rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy effective June 26, 2023, as the reduction was improper.
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