The Board has determined that additional examinations and opinions are needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate previous medical opinions.
The deciding factor: Previous VA opinions were found to be insufficient, lacking clear conclusions with supporting data and a reasoned explanation connecting the two (service connection and etiology).
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive sleep apnea, Bilateral hearing loss, Degenerative arthritis, right knee, Degenerative arthritis, right hip, Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20008121
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 20008121.
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 degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
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