The Board remands the claims for service connection for cervical spondylosis, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, sore ribs, mild degenerative arthritis of the interphalangeal joints and metacarpophalangeal joints of the right hand, and a left hip disability to obtain adequate VA examinations and medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The September 2024 VA examiner's opinions are inadequate as they rely on the absence of treatment records without considering the Veteran's reports and do not address his assertions about in-service injuries or symptoms. There has been no substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spondylosis (claimed as neck pain), degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine (claimed as back pain), sore ribs, mild degenerative arthritis of the interphalangeal joints and metacarpophalangeal joints of the right hand (claimed as a right hand disability), left hip disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2025
- Citation
- 25005204
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 719 · Granted: 54% (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 25005204.
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 decided to remand the Veteran's claims for left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran will need an adequate VA medical opinion to determine if his hip disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip, left knee, right hip, and lower back disabilities. The claim for left hip disability is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbar spine disability, right hand disability, left hip disability, TBI, and left knee disability have all been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.,Specifically, the VA examination in December 2019 determined that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not related to his military service.
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