The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions provided are not sufficient to determine whether any diagnosed conditions are related to service. The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded to obtain additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the existing medical opinions were insufficient to establish a clear and unmistakable basis for denying service connection, as they relied on incomplete records or failed to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding continuity of symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, Osgood-Schlatter’s disease of the right knee, Osgood-Schlatter’s disease of the left knee, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20034911
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 20034911.
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 bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
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