The Board has found that further development is necessary for the claims of service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, and left hip disabilities. The Veteran must be provided with VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed conditions and whether they are related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board finds the existing medical opinions inadequate due to their reliance on the absence of service treatment records without proper rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disk disease, lumbar spine, Degenerative disk disease, cervical spine, Status post left hip replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19180016
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including cervical spine, chronic fatigue, and various nerve damages, as the evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to in-service events.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a neck disorder to obtain an adequate VA medical opinion addressing the nature and etiology of the Veteran's current neck condition, including whether it is related to her military service.
- Granted
The veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine, finding that there was functional loss due to pain causing additional disability beyond that reflected on range of motion measurements.
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