The Veteran's claim for service connection for posterior cervical laminectomy, which is secondary to his service-connected compression fracture of T-11, and the issue of a temporary total rating for surgery of the cervical spine are both remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran’s cervical spine condition was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected compression fracture, which is required for secondary service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- posterior cervical laminectomy, compression fracture of T-11
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19159832
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 19159832.
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.
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- Partly granted
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- Granted
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