The Board has determined that the Veteran's May 2018 substantive appeal was timely, and that his claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder (characterized as spina bifida) was reopened. The matter is now remanded to the RO for further adjudication on the merits.
The deciding factor: The Board found sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of regularity regarding the receipt of the Supplemental Statement of the Case, thus finding that the Veteran's substantive appeal was timely.
- Claimed conditions
- spina bifida
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081128
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 an effective date prior to January 1, 2020 for the grant of benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1822 for a child born with spina bifida due to the specific statutory effective date set by The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board denied benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1815 for a child born with birth defects and remanded the claim for benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1805 for a child born with spina bifida.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to determine whether the appellant's congenital neural tube defect caused or contributed to his January 1986 hypoxic brain injury event, and if not, to estimate the type and severity of symptoms he would currently exhibit due to spina bifida.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain the Veteran's complete service records and readjudicate the issues of entitlement to benefits for spina bifida and other covered birth defects.
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