The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability and remanded it due to new evidence suggesting an in-service injury. The VA examiner will be asked to provide an opinion on whether the current back disabilities are related to service.,The Veteran's right lower extremity neuropathy, kidney disability, gastrointestinal disability, and right thigh disability are all secondary to her thoracolumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disabilities may be related to an in-service injury based on new evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar Spine Disability, Right Lower Extremity Neuropathy, Kidney Disability, Gastrointestinal Disability, Right Thigh Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2021
- Citation
- 21071929
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 21071929.
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 Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied as there is no prior unadjudicated claim found in the record. The issue of TDIU was not raised until after a final rating decision on service connection for PTSD and TBI.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to new and relevant evidence having been received since a previous denial.
- Partly granted
The Board granted increased ratings for the Veteran's right and left shoulder rotator cuff disabilities, effective from March 25, 2008 and February 28, 2008 respectively. The thoracolumbar spine disability was also rated at 40 percent, but a temporary total disability rating for convalescence following a January 13, 2016 left shoulder surgery was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for diabetes mellitus and hypertension, as well as a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss.
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