The Board has found that additional development is necessary for the Veteran's claims of cervical spine arthritis and thoracic spine strain, both claimed as secondary to his service-connected DJD of the lumbar spine. The Board has ordered remand with instructions to obtain an addendum medical opinion from a VA physician.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the existing medical opinions were inadequate due to failure to consider the Veteran's lay statements and submitted photographic evidence, as well as service treatment records indicating back strain injuries during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine arthritis, Thoracic spine strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2022
- Citation
- 22012076
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 22012076.
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 has granted service connection for cervical spine arthritis, bilateral knee degenerative arthritis, and lumbar degenerative disc disease. The Veteran's conditions are deemed to have been incurred during his active military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, but denied service connection for right knee arthritis, left knee arthritis, a right shoulder contusion, left shoulder arthritis, cervical spine arthritis, right upper extremity tremors, and left upper extremity tremors.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected thoracic spine strain was granted a rating of 20 percent for the period prior to January 29, 2024, but denied a higher rating from that date. The claims for service connection for lumbosacral and sciatic nerve disorders were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a total disability due to individual unemployability based on a single disability for special monthly compensation purposes, as there was no evidence that any single service-connected condition or combination of conditions rendered him unable to obtain and maintain gainful employment.
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