The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for neck and back disabilities due to a lack of discussion regarding potentially favorable evidence from a 1970 VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board overlooked evidence suggesting spine pathology dating from approximately 13 months after the Veteran’s post-service injuries, which forms the basis of his theory of entitlement.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine (neck disability), Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine (back disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20041862
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 20041862.
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 Veteran's service-connected back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right shoulder disability are all rated at the highest possible initial rating of 40 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial rating greater than 30 percent for his degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine (neck disability) as there was no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis, and the associated upper extremity radiculopathy symptoms were separately rated.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's neck disability was granted an initial rating of 20 percent prior to March 12, 2021. The other issues are remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied the claims for increased ratings and remanded certain issues for further development.
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