The Board has determined that additional development is required for the Veteran's claims regarding his service-connected lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, as there are inconsistencies in the examinations conducted prior to this decision.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not conduct Correia compliant testing (both active and passive range of motion testing) or provide an assessment of functional loss during flare-ups. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings must be remanded for further examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with degenerative disc and joint disease, cervical strain with degenerative disc and joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19183908
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19183908.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings, as well as special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for migraine headaches is granted. The Board finds that the evidence is in approximate balance as to whether current migraines are related to service, and thus grants service connection on a direct basis.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his cervical and lumbar spine disabilities were denied as there is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis, which would warrant a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for additional development due to deficiencies in obtaining addendum medical opinions and conducting necessary examinations.
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