The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the nature and etiology of his cervical spine disorder, left knee and hip disorders, as well as chronic bronchitis, urinary hesitancy, diabetes mellitus, and obstructive sleep apnea prior to specific dates. The VA is instructed to obtain additional medical opinions that address these issues.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient medical opinions addressing the nature and etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine disorder, left knee and hip disorders, as well as chronic bronchitis, urinary hesitancy, diabetes mellitus, and obstructive sleep apnea prior to specific dates. The VA is instructed to obtain additional medical opinions that address these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disorder, Left knee disorder, Left hip disorder, Chronic bronchitis, Urinary hesitancy, Diabetes mellitus, Obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2024
- Citation
- 24004491
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24004491.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and psychiatric disorder due to incomplete information. The Veteran needs to provide his complete service personnel records, verify his alleged combat experience in Vietnam, and undergo VA examinations for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
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