The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development and readjudication due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the severity of his cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities prior to August 23, 2011.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners were unable to provide an opinion without resorting to speculation based on limited examination findings from August and December 2009.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) and Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the cervical spine, DDD of the lumbar spine with spondylolisthesis and lumbar strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20067654
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 a rating greater than 20 percent for the appellant's service-connected cervical spine disability and an initial rating of more than 30 percent for his headaches associated with the cervical spine.,The Board also denied entitlement to total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the service-connected cervical spine disability and headaches.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical examination to determine if the Veteran's current neck strain is related to his in-service activities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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