The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar discogenic disease, left basal discoid atelectasis, and elongated thoracic aorta are remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence of a nexus between the current disabilities and active service. The Veteran has not been provided with an examination or opinion regarding his upper back injury and lumbar discogenic disease claims.
- Claimed conditions
- elongated thoracic aorta, left basal discoid atelectasis, lumbar discogenic disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178695
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (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 19178695.
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 has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding range of motion for the thoracolumbar spine. The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for back disabilities is being returned to VA for further review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error and an inadequate opinion regarding secondary service connection for lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar discogenic disease, degenerative disc disease (DDD), radiculopathy, sciatic nerve, right lower extremity, and radiculopathy, left lower extremity. The Veteran should be provided an opportunity for a VA examination to assess the current severity and manifestations of his service-connected lumbar spine disability and associated radiculopathies.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a dental condition, an initial increased rating for lumbar discogenic disease, and an increased rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy. The claim for TDIU was not addressed in this decision.
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