The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine and thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease due to inadequate VA examinations and insufficient evidence of a causal relationship between his current conditions and service.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not address whether the Veteran’s back and neck conditions are secondary to his service-connected polyarthralgia, and the private physician's opinion was limited in scope.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine degenerative disc disease, thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19148004
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 Board remands the claims for a higher rating in excess of the current ratings for various musculoskeletal conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple musculoskeletal conditions and a psychiatric condition, all of which were determined to be caused by an in-service injury.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and remanded several service connection claims.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased disability evaluations for several conditions, dismissed claims for others, and remanded two issues for further development.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.