The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete testing and lack of specific opinions regarding functional loss, flare-ups, ankylosis, and radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not fully comply with the Board's August 2021 remand directives regarding testing for pain in passive and active motion, functional loss due to flare-ups and repeated use over time, and whether the Veteran experienced functional loss equivalent to ankylosis of the cervical spine or thoracolumbar spine.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis and degenerative spondylosis of the cervical spine (neck disability), thoracolumbar strain (back disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 18, 2022
- Citation
- 22046987
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 22046987.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the issues of initial ratings higher than 10 percent for right and left ankle strains prior to December 20, 2019. The issue of a higher rating for thoracolumbar strain (back disability) prior to December 20, 2019 is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his thoracolumbar strain, right ankle strain, and left ankle strain prior to December 20, 2019 due to inadequate previous examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to April 28, 2017 for the grant of a 20 percent evaluation for thoracolumbar strain (back disability) is granted. The effective date is set at August 17, 2016.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection as it is related to in-service noise exposure.,A 10 percent disability rating for thoracolumbar strain prior to February 19, 2018, was granted based on the current evidence of record.
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