The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and a neck disorder due to unclear opinions in previous VA examinations. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions, which are currently considered direct service connection cases.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA examiners were not clear or detailed enough regarding the etiology of the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine and neck disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- Scoliosis of the thoracolumbar spine, Neck disorder (including cervical sprain and strain)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2022
- Citation
- 22047430
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 22047430.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased disability evaluations of his service-connected low back and related lower extremity radiculopathy disorders are being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Granted
The Board finds that the Veteran's scoliosis of the thoracolumbar spine is service-connected, as it was not shown to be congenital and first manifested during active service. The Board also finds that the Veteran's IVDS with degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine is less likely than not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected scoliosis.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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