The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete VA medical opinions regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for a back disability, which may be related to his active duty service or secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee disability.
The deciding factor: Incomplete VA medical opinions were provided and require additional clarification on whether the Veteran's current back disability is directly related to his active duty service or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic thoracolumbar strain, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, degenerative arthritis of the spine with intervertebral disc syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20080767
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 service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current disability and his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension, an increased rating for a stroke and stroke residuals, and an increased rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine from February 20, 2013 to January 22, 2020, exclusive of a convalescence period. The other claims were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to October 20, 2019, as the evidence did not show that his service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
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