The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions that did not consider the Veteran's reported symptoms and history.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to adequately address the Veteran's reported symptoms in their medical opinions, which is necessary to determine if there is a link between the claimed conditions and military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) with spinal stenosis of the cervical spine, Degenerative arthritis of the left shoulder with subcortical cyst, DDD of the lumbar spine with bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, Residuals of cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder), Diverticular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 1, 2022
- Citation
- 22032056
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 22032056.
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 a gastrointestinal disorder (claimed as gallbladder disorder, post-surgical removal) and diverticular disease. The evidence did not show that the disorders began in service or were related to service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's gastrointestinal disorder, including GERD and diverticulitis, had its onset during active duty service. Therefore, the claim for service connection is granted.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current GI disorder related to his service and denied his claim for service connection.
- Denied
The VA denied a compensable disability rating for the veteran's appendectomy residuals, finding that the scars are superficial and do not limit motion or function.
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