The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for thoracolumbar spine DDD due to a May 2017 injury during ACDUTRA, as there is no competent medical opinion on whether the condition was aggravated by this incident.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing thoracolumbar spine DDD was aggravated by his period of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) in May 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 21, 2024
- Citation
- A24059025
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 A24059025.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a restoration of the 40 percent disability rating for thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease and an initial 70 percent disability rating for unspecified bipolar and related disorder, along with a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected unspecified bipolar and related disorder alone.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for additional medical examination to address deficiencies in the current evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain outstanding medical records for a more accurate initial rating of the Veteran's service-connected back condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for additional development, specifically to obtain a retrospective opinion addressing the additional loss of range of motion present during the Veteran's reported flare-ups at the time of certain VA examinations and whether his range of motions would be further reduced if not for medications taken at the time of such examinations.
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