The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and a right hip disability, as well as his claim for a compensable rating for the residuals of a contusion of the chest wall and lung. The reasons for remand include obtaining missing service treatment records from May 1967 to June 1967, providing medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's disabilities, and issuing an SOC in response to his NOD.
The deciding factor: The Board found that VA had not obtained all relevant service treatment records and did not provide adequate reasons for denying service connection. The Court also found that the Board failed to address the significance of the Veteran’s pre-existing lumbar spine disability as part of its decision.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, right hip disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20036691
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 20036691.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran will need an adequate VA medical opinion to determine if his hip disabilities are related to service.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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