The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine disability and additional records are needed.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address whether the Veteran’s pre-existing cervical spine disability was aggravated by periods of active duty service (ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA).
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000058
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for low back disability, cervical spine disability, and right leg nerve disability as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable evaluation for left ear hearing loss were dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeals at a December 2024 Board hearing. The remaining claims are being remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a separate 50 percent initial rating for insomnia as secondary to tinnitus, and denied an increased rating for tinnitus. The Board also granted service connection for headache disability, low back disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, cervical spine disability, and right upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, a cervical spine disability, and right ear hearing loss but denied service connection for sinusitis. The left ear hearing loss claim was remanded.
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