The Board has found that the VA medical opinions are inadequate and remands the case for additional examinations to address the etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions, including L5-S1 and C3-C7 degenerative disc disease, lumbar scoliosis, lumbar spondylosis/osteoarthritis, and spinal cord impingement.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions are inadequate due to reliance on a lack of medical evidence without consideration of the Veteran's lay statements regarding his symptoms and service connection theory is direct.
- Claimed conditions
- L5-S1 degenerative disc disease, C3-C7 degenerative disc disease, lumbar scoliosis, lumbar spondylosis/osteoarthritis, spinal cord impingement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 10, 2024
- Citation
- A24054548
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 A24054548.
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 degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome to include spinal stenosis and lumbar scoliosis, right knee total arthroplasty, and left knee strain are all granted service connection as directly related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for lumbar scoliosis due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar scoliosis, but remanded the claims for degenerative arthritis of the spine, IVDS, and degenerative disc disease, left hip disability, right hip disability, and left leg radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for several conditions but granted it for right hip disability and assigned a 20 percent rating for right knee instability. Some issues were remanded.
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