The Veteran's claim to reopen the service connection for a spine disability is granted. The case is remanded for further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been submitted that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim, but the Board finds the existing medical opinions inadequate and requires additional examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, degenerative disk disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19148928
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 service connection claim for mid-lower back pain and degenerative disk disease due to a need for an examination to determine the etiology of the disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for various conditions, including impotence, headaches, cervical spine degenerative joint disease, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for the lumbar spine disability from January 23, 2015, and denied a higher rating since September 1, 2018.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an initial rating higher than 20 percent for lumbar spine degenerative joint disease and a TDIU from December 4, 2021 to February 7, 2024 due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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