The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's spine pain, headaches, gastritis, and psychiatric disability due to outstanding VA treatment records and inadequate opinions. The Veteran is also required to undergo further examinations for his spine, headaches, gastritis, and psychiatric conditions.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on incomplete medical records and insufficient opinions regarding the Veteran's claims.
- Claimed conditions
- low back (lumbar) pain, thoracic spine pain, cervicothoracic spine pain, cepahloia (headaches), chronic gastritis with constipation, an acquired psychiatric disability, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a pain disorder associated with psychological factors, a mood disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194527
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 19194527.
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 service-connected disabilities require care or assistance from another person on a regular basis to protect him from hazards and dangers incident to his daily environment, which has been determined based on the evidence of record. As such, the claim for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for thoracic spine pain and tinnitus, as well as higher ratings for various service-connected conditions.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's GERD and Schatzki's ring were granted a combined rating of 30 percent, while other claims for increased ratings or service connection were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for thoracic spine pain and cervical strain, but denied service connection for right 3rd digit residuals, hand tremors, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional abdominal pain syndrome/abdominal pain bleeding, allergy-induced asthma, a right ankle disorder, claimed as degenerative joint disease (DJD), headaches, and respiratory insufficiency (dyspnea).
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