The Board remands the claim for a neck disability to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements of neck pain in service and providing separate rationales for causation and aggravation.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion from October 2021 is inadequate as it fails to address the Veteran's lay statements of neck pain during service and does not provide separate opinions for causation and aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2022
- Citation
- 22000552
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 multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death, as an appellant's claim does not survive their death.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
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