The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, bilateral knees, and lower back to allow for new VA examinations that address whether these conditions are secondary to his service-connected bilateral foot disability.
The deciding factor: The previous examination reports were inadequate as they did not provide opinions on whether the Veteran’s disabilities were aggravated by his service-connected bilateral foot disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, Degenerative arthritis, bilateral knees, Degenerative arthritis of the lower back
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19183921
Veterans Law Judge
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 19183921.
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 Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar and cervical spine are being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ is directed to obtain an addendum medical opinion that addresses the extent of flareups experienced by the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
Service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and anxiety is granted. The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy, right knee condition, and OSA are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for reducing his disability ratings for cervical spine conditions has been withdrawn by the Veteran's representative.
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