The Board remands the matter for an additional medical opinion to assess whether the Veteran's low back condition is caused or aggravated by his service-connected knee and ankle disabilities.
The deciding factor: The June 2019 VA examiner's negative etiology opinion was based on the lack of treatment records, but this is not persuasive evidence that a current disability was not caused by active service on a secondary basis. The new examination will address both the caused by and aggravation prongs for secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the spine (claimed as a back condition)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25028578
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 service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for anxiety but denied it for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's sleep apnea was less likely than not related to his active service or service-connected acquired psychiatric condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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