The Board has decided that there is not enough evidence to determine if the Veteran's upper back disability, including thoracolumbar and cervical spine strain, is related to his military service. The case will be sent back for further development.
The deciding factor: The most recent remand directives were not substantially complied with due to an inadequate opinion regarding the current existence of a disability.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back disability, thoracolumbar spine strain, cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 29, 2022
- Citation
- 22055579
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 22055579.
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 the Appellant's request to have his military service characterized as honorable, and has also granted service connection for various conditions including unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, scars of the left second finger and thumb, thoracolumbar spine strain, bilateral knee strains, and a right foot disorder.
- Dismissed
The appeal for neck pain pinched nerve severe arthritis cervical spine is dismissed as a matter of law. Service connection and increased ratings are granted for major depression, mental disorder anxiety and PTSD, carpal tunnel syndrome (both wrists), and migraine including migraine variants.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings and service connection were withdrawn, and the appeal concerning a deferred evaluation for left ear hearing loss was dismissed due to a claims-processing error.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including sleep apnea, lower back disability, upper back disability, bilateral foot disability, tinnitus, and bilateral knee disability. The Board found that there was no evidence to support a direct link between these conditions and active service.
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