The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical and lumbar spine conditions due to insufficient examination reports addressing the probative value of lay statements regarding earlier onset dates.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address the probative value of the lay statements discussing earlier onset dates and prescribed medication use.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine condition, Lumbar spine condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20068991
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran before the Board promulgated a decision.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine condition and dismissed the claim for PTSD, while denying claims for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, TBI rating increase, status post right knee meniscectomy rating increase, and scar rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine condition, chronic headaches, chronic sinusitis, major depressive disorder (MDD), and a skin condition to fulfill statutory duties related to toxic exposure risk activities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy but denied a higher rating for the lumbar spine condition and remanded service connection for knee condition.
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