The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, neck disability, and sleep apnea due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The VA is required to obtain new opinions addressing whether these conditions are related to his active service or secondary to his service-connected foot disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the existing medical opinions were insufficient and requested additional evaluations to address causation and aggravation of the Veteran's conditions by his service-connected foot disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- back (thoracolumbar spine), neck (cervical spine)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20054280
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 20054280.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a neck (cervical spine) and low back (lumbar spine) disabilities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability and a neck disability, including as secondary to his bilateral pes planus and hallux valgus. The claims are being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of these disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher ratings and service connection due to additional evidence being added to the record, including VA examinations of his cervical spine, thoracic spine, right knee, and left knee. The claims will be reviewed again with consideration of new evidence.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and therefore grants entitlement to service connection for a back disability. However, there is no evidence of a current left bicep disability, so the claim for this condition is denied.
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