The claim of service connection for thoracolumbar spine strain is reopened, and the case is remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been submitted that relates to unestablished facts and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for thoracolumbar spine strain.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine strain, spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20004784
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent evaluation for sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, a 30 percent evaluation for femoral nerve radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), but denied an increased evaluation in excess of 40 percent for spinal stenosis and lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed as the proposed rating reductions for thoracolumbar spine strain and acne, and the initial ratings for bilateral hip disabilities were not properly appealed.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from March 1, 2021, and an effective date of March 1, 2021, for eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for scoliosis and found that the reduction in the combined disability rating for bulging discs in the lumbar spine, lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis of the spine, and spondylosis from 40 percent to 10 percent was proper.
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