The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, osteoarthritis of the left hip, and osteoarthritis of the right hip. The decision is based on the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's current disabilities and his in-service events.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there are insufficient medical opinions to determine whether the Veteran’s spine and/or hip disabilities had their clinical onset during service or are due to an event or incident of his period of active service, including the length of time the in-service surgery screws and bar remained implanted in his ankle.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the spine, osteoarthritis, left hip, osteoarthritis, right hip
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19147801
Veterans Law Judge
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 19147801.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted. The claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and residuals of head injuries and concussions are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective date for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) prior to August 8, 2024, and dependency benefits from June 1, 2025, to August 8, 2025, for the school-aged child are both denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining relevant treatment records and inadequate VA medical opinions regarding secondary service connection.
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