The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's thoracolumbar disorder, including whether it is related to service or secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider all relevant evidence and applied a heightened standard of proof in this case.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2023
- Citation
- 23061843
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 23061843.
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 Veteran's left knee strain and psychiatric disorders (generalized anxiety disorder and depression) are granted service connection.,Service connection for a thoracolumbar disorder is granted as secondary to the service-connected left knee strain. The Veteran's CAD and DM are remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding herbicide exposure in service.,The Veteran's CAD is granted based on conceded in-service toxic exposure risk activities (TERA) and hypertension, while his DM is granted based on TERA and service-connected left knee strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the veteran's thoracolumbar disorder, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for prurigo nodularis as secondary to PTSD. The cases of hypertension, left shoulder disorder, thoracolumbar disorder, and a skin disorder other than the service-connected prurigo nodularis are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection and increased rating for the listed conditions.
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