The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and conflicting opinions. The issues of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and bilateral hand numbness, as secondary to cervical spine disability, are being reviewed with additional medical examination.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for an addendum VA opinion considering private x-ray reports, a September 2017 letter from a private physician, and March 2020 private opinion regarding the Veteran's service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Bilateral hand numbness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20041294
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 20041294.
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 degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities prior to October 22, 2008 are being remanded due to the need for additional retrospective medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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