The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a cervical spine disability and gastrointestinal disability (IBS and gastritis) due to service connection. The Veteran is not presumed to have incurred these conditions in service, but his lay statements are considered credible enough to warrant further examination and consideration.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish an in-service injury or disease that caused the current cervical spine or gastrointestinal disabilities, nor can it be said with certainty that they are related to service. However, the Veteran's lay statements regarding symptom onset during service are given significant weight.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability, Gastrointestinal disability (IBS, gastritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20081562
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 low back disability, cervical spine disability, and right leg nerve disability as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable evaluation for left ear hearing loss were dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeals at a December 2024 Board hearing. The remaining claims are being remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a separate 50 percent initial rating for insomnia as secondary to tinnitus, and denied an increased rating for tinnitus. The Board also granted service connection for headache disability, low back disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, cervical spine disability, and right upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, a cervical spine disability, and right ear hearing loss but denied service connection for sinusitis. The left ear hearing loss claim was remanded.
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