The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has not been submitted to warrant readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, left knee disability, cervical spine disability, and lumbar spine disability. The claims are being remanded due to a duty to assist error in the October 2018 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The October 2018 VA examination is inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's reported history of neck pain from an in-service motor vehicle accident and back strain during service. The examiner must address whether any current cervical or lumbar spine disorder had onset during or is otherwise related to the Veteran's active service, including her in-service motor vehicle accident and/or wearing a gun belt.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, left knee disability, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2023
- Citation
- A23030237
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 A23030237.
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 Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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