The Board has determined that a remand is necessary due to the need for additional VA examination and clarification of certain issues related to the Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint and disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The decision was not fully informed as it lacked an explanation regarding whether the examiner could provide specific measurements or opinions about flare-ups, symptoms, or functional impairment due to the service-connected condition without speculation.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint and disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2022
- Citation
- 22070343
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 22070343.
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 Veteran's peripheral vascular disease, degenerative joint and disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, post-operative status bowel resection, carcinoma of the cecum and bowel, and fecal incontinence are not service-connected. The Board denied these claims as they were not caused or aggravated by a service-connected condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative joint and disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine is currently rated at 40 percent effective October 11, 2012. The Veteran's disc disease of the cervical spine remains rated at 20 percent.
- 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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