The Veteran's thoracic spine disability is remanded for further evaluation, and the TDIU claim is also remanded due to its inextricability with the increased rating claim.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not adequately evaluate the severity of the Veteran’s thoracic spine disability, including any flare-ups. The examiner was asked to assess whether there are additional degrees of limited motion caused by functional loss during a flare-up.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic somatic dysfunction with muscle spasms
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19195958
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (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 19195958.
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 claim for increased ratings for his service-connected thoracic somatic dysfunction with muscle spasms is being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and compliance with prior remand directives. The case also includes a remand for individual unemployability (TDIU) from August 6, 2014, to November 19, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for arthritis secondary to thoracic somatic dysfunction with muscle spasms was dismissed. The Board denied the earlier effective date claim as there is no evidence of a valid claim prior to July 19, 2007.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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