The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of his claimed conditions. The claims are being returned for further development and consideration.
The deciding factor: The VA provided inadequate medical opinions that did not address the continuity of symptoms or provide a detailed rationale for their conclusions, necessitating additional examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), Head injury, Degenerative arthritis of cervical spine, Degenerative arthritis of thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2021
- Citation
- 21026157
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 21026157.
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 the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of non-VA care provided by AMRM on March 30, 2021, finding that it met the criteria under 38 U.S.C. § 1725.
- Denied
The Board finds the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran has an acquired psychiatric disorder related to service, particularly given inconsistencies in his statements and lack of combat service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudicating the appellant's claim of service connection for the Veteran's cause of death. The case is remanded for further development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected degenerative arthritis of thoracolumbar spine due to insufficient examination and lack of consideration of functional loss due to pain, weakness, excess fatigability, incoordination, flare-ups, and medication effects.
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