The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is remanded due to incomplete records and the need for an advisory medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of his head, neck, and rib disabilities.
The deciding factor: Incomplete private treatment records from Morton Plant Hospital and Largo Medical Center are needed to determine the Veteran's pre-existing conditions and the cause of his current disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- head, neck, rib
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- A20016234
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant, and no substitute has been filed within the required timeframe.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection was dismissed due to a late filing.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Board Appeal request.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to privacy request issues and missing VA medical records from 1990 to 1997. The claims for bilateral knee pain, lumbar spine spondylosis and degenerative disc disease, and an earlier effective date are also being remanded.
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