The Board has decided that the case must be remanded due to an inadequate addendum opinion regarding secondary service connection for cervical DDD. The examiner needs to provide a new opinion addressing whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's cervical DDD is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected low back disability.
The deciding factor: The addendum opinion provided by the VA examiner did not address the claimed condition (cervical DDD) and assumed a fact not in evidence, leading to an inadequate rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190754
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19190754.
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 Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as their associated radiculopathy conditions, are remanded for further development. The fibromyalgia with headaches claim is also remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical DDD and left and right upper extremity radiculopathy disabilities, both secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar DDD.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed claims for asthma, kidney cancer, chest pains, and rhinitis due to lack of adjudication. Claims for cervical DDD, shoulder strains, hip conditions, and foot conditions were remanded for further evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for an increased rating for myasthenia gravis and denied service connection for right ankle and foot disabilities. Service connection was granted for cervical spine stenosis, DDD, and DJD.
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