The Board has determined that the VA examination provided is inadequate and requires further action, including obtaining additional service treatment records and providing an addendum opinion.
The deciding factor: The examiner's opinion was insufficient as it relied solely on the absence of evidence in service medical records without considering the Veteran's lay statements regarding his symptoms and treatment history.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the spine, neck condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2022
- Citation
- 22062377
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 22062377.
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 the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including a back condition, right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, neck condition, upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral flatfoot, right foot plantar fasciitis, and right ankle pain, as the current evidence is inadequate to make a decision.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a back condition, neck condition, bilateral hearing loss, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include insomnia disorder. The claims for the remaining conditions were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to the Veteran's asthma with sinusitis, but denied service connection for a low back sprain and plantar fasciitis. The claim for a neck condition was dismissed.
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