The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, sciatica of right leg, and left rib cage cracked bone pain due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran’s statements regarding his in-service injuries. The Board found that a new medical opinion is necessary to address these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, left rib cage cracked bone pain, sciatica of right leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- A20015337
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 service connection for allergic rhinitis and remanded the other claims for further development.
- Dismissed
The motion to revise or reverse on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) was dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical strain, radiculopathy of the right upper extremity as secondary to cervical strain, an initial 30 percent rating for sinusitis effective from November 26, 2019, and a 40 percent rating for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine effective from November 26, 2018.
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