The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the spine, back spasms, shoulder arthritis, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities. The claims are being remanded to further develop evidence related to these conditions.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence was received that relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the Veteran's service connection claims for arthritis of the spine, back spasms, shoulder arthritis, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities. The claims are being remanded to further develop this evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the spine, back spasms, arthritis of the shoulders, diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20021963
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 20021963.
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 Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's back spasms are granted as secondary to his service-connected left and right knee conditions, and he is awarded a separate 10 percent rating for instability of the left knee.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back spasms, confusion/memory loss, depression, fatty tumors on back, and head injury as there is no current diagnosis or in-service event to support these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected conditions contributed to his death from COVID-19. The VA will obtain a new opinion on this issue.
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