The case is remanded to obtain outstanding private medical treatment records and reschedule a VA examination for the Veteran's back disability.
The deciding factor: There was confusion regarding whether the Veteran was scheduled for an in-person examination, and if so, whether he was notified of this request. The need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the record (additional facts are required).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2024
- Citation
- 24032095
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 24032095.
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 claims for service connection due to incomplete records and inadequate VA opinions. The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorder, psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), and hypertension are all being reviewed.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative disc disease and lumbosacral strain are found to be at least as likely as not related to his in-service back injury, leading to the grant of service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for DDD of the thoracolumbar spine and peripheral neuropathy of the sciatic nerve are being remanded due to insufficient examination findings. The case will be returned for further evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient compliance with previous instructions and failure to schedule a VA examination.
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