The Board has determined that another remand is necessary to obtain adequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorders and their relationship to service. The AOJ should verify all periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA/IDT), particularly for the period from October 1998 through August 2002. Any outstanding VA and private treatment records should also be obtained.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous medical opinions were inadequate, specifically failing to address the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuous pain since an injury in 1994.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disorders, thoracic scoliosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20020558
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 20020558.
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 Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for thoracic scoliosis and denied service connection for a left ankle condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for atopic dermatitis, degenerative changes spine and thoracic scoliosis, and migraines due to duty-to-assist errors in prior VA medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete or conflicting opinions regarding the Veteran's back disability. The VA must obtain a new opinion addressing all diagnosed spine disabilities, their likely causes, and whether they are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for thoracic scoliosis as new and material evidence was not presented, and the condition is considered to have pre-existed his service.
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