The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of her lumbar spine disability, as well as her cervical spine and tension headaches. The remand requires a new VA examination to determine whether her neck disability is at least as likely as not due to an in-service disease, event, or injury; or proximately due to or aggravated by her service-connected lumbar spine disability. Additionally, the examiner should opine whether her tension headache disability is proximately due to or aggravated by her cervical spine disability and her lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the June 2019 decision was inadequate as it did not consider all of the evidence of record, including private chiropractic treatment records suggesting a cervical spine disability. The remand is necessary for a new VA examination to determine whether the Veteran has a current neck disability and if her tension headaches are related to her cervical spine complaints.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine (neck) disability, Tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20068562
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 the veteran's claims for increased ratings for various disabilities, including lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, radiculopathy of both femoral and sciatic nerves, tension headaches, residual scarring, and PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for readjudication due to new and relevant evidence being submitted since the previous denial.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for essential left-hand tremors, essential right-hand tremors, restless left leg syndrome, restless right leg syndrome, and tension headaches as further development is needed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded several claims for further development and readjudication, including service connection for OSA and hypertension, as well as increased ratings for right wrist sprain, MDD, tension headaches, and other musculoskeletal conditions.
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