The Board remands the claims for service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability and a foot disability to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The opinions provided by the VA examiners were found inadequate due to inaccurate factual premises, and further examination is required to determine the etiology of the Veteran's conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disability, foot disability (bilateral plantar fasciitis, bilateral tendonitis, and bilateral foot pain)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2024
- Citation
- A24063309
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability and a left shoulder disability as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the Veteran's award of service-connected compensation for headaches and remanded claims for increased rating, service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, right shoulder disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic sinusitis, fibromyalgia, and CFS. The Veteran's hearing loss, lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy, shoulder disability, knee meniscal tear, knee limitation of extension, knee scars, GERD, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and PTSD were also not rated higher than their current levels.
- Granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 30 percent rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy effective June 26, 2023, as the reduction was improper.
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