The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, as well as lumbosacral strain, status post T11 compression fracture with fusion of T10-T11, is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to determine the current severity and nature of the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, Lumbosacral strain, status post T11 compression fracture with fusion of T10-T11
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19160136
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 19160136.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right knee and allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions had their onset in service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to July 17, 2012.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal was denied for entitlement to earlier effective dates for TDIU, DEA, and PTSD. The RO granted these benefits on April 4, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional VA examinations and medical records are needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's spine, respiratory, and sleep apnea disabilities. The case is therefore being remanded for these purposes.
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