The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including heart and cervical spine conditions, as well as upper extremity and lower extremity neurological and shoulder/hand/hip disabilities, due to the need for additional medical evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that an addendum opinion is necessary regarding the Veteran's current diagnosis of a heart disability and the etiology of his cervical spine condition, among others, as the February 2021 VA examiner failed to adequately address certain aspects of the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disability, Cervical spine disability, Right upper extremity neurological disability (secondary to cervical spine disability), Left upper extremity neurological disability (secondary to cervical spine disability), Right shoulder disability (secondary to cervical spine disability), Left shoulder disability (secondary to cervical spine disability), Right hand disability (secondary to cervical spine disability), Left hand disability (secondary to cervical spine disability), Right hip disability (secondary to thoracolumbar spine disability), Left hip disability (secondary to thoracolumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21062169
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 various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a heart disability, to include ischemic heart disease (IHD), due to an incomplete military personnel record and the need for further development of evidence related to exposure to Agent Orange.
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