The Board has remanded the claims for cervical-spine disorder and thoracic-spine disorder due to insufficient consideration of the Veteran's lay evidence, particularly his testimony at a Travel Board hearing.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner must consider the Veteran’s lay statements regarding in-service symptoms and post-service treatment, including his testimony from the February 2019 Board hearing.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical-spine disorder, thoracic-spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072712
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20072712.
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 determined that the Veteran's cervical-spine disorder, right-upper-extremity radiculopathy, and left-upper-extremity radiculopathy claims should be remanded due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the previously denied claims of service connection for right-knee disorder, left-knee disorder, cervical-spine disorder, thoracic-spine disorder, and lumbar-spine disorder. The gastrointestinal disorder claim remains denied as there is no evidence supporting its service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities cause him to need the regular aid and assistance of another person, which has been granted for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical-spine disorder, finding that the Veteran's current condition is directly caused by his in-service wear and carry of heavy equipment. However, it denied service connection for thoracolumbar-spine disorder due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service.,Service connection was established for cervical spine issues based on chronicity and a nexus between in-service injury and current disability. The Board found no direct link between the Veteran's thoracic spine disorder and his military service.
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