The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine, lower back, right hip, and right ankle conditions due to secondary service connection. The VA examiners did not adequately address whether these conditions were aggravated by his service-connected left hip and left ankle disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners failed to consider the Veteran’s lay statements about falls aggravating his current conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine condition, Lower back condition, Right hip condition, Right ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19162173
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 19162173.
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The appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran before the Board promulgated a decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating due to additional evidence received after the last SOC was issued, requiring AOJ review.
- Denied
The Board denied readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, aphthous ulcers, a right elbow condition, an enlarged prostate, a right ankle disorder, and a left ankle disorder as no new and relevant evidence was received.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include alcohol use disorder, unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, and PTSD was granted. Other claims for various conditions were denied.
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