The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, lumbosacral strain rating, and TDIU due to outstanding VA treatment records and private treatment records. The Veteran needs to be provided with a VA examination to determine if his cervical spine disability is related to service or secondary to his lumbosacral strain.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for the Veteran's cervical spine disability and that further development, including an addendum opinion from a VA clinician, is needed to determine if the Veteran's cervical spine disability was caused or aggravated by his service-connected lumbosacral strain.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine disability, lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072902
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right leg sciatica with radiculopathy pain and paresthesia, but denied increased ratings for PTSD, lumbosacral strain, left wrist limitation of motion with ganglion cyst, and service connection for headaches, unspecified. Several issues were remanded.
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