The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's degenerative disc disease, other than intervertebral disc syndrome with cervical strain, is related to service or secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder.
The deciding factor: The June 2022 medical opinion was found inadequate as it did not address the aggravation prong for secondary service connection and lacked a sufficient rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, other than intervertebral disc syndrome with cervical strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25027192
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 appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to a cervical spine disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral strain, and scoliosis, but remanded the other issues.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease, effective November 21, 2022.
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