The Board has determined that additional medical examinations and opinions are needed to properly evaluate the Veteran's claims, including for his cervical spine disability and associated radiculopathy, as well as his claimed right leg disorder. The VA will provide these services on remand.
The deciding factor: The current examination reports do not include range-of-motion findings for the left and right upper extremities and consideration of these disabilities under potentially applicable diagnostic codes pertaining to range of motion is warranted. Additionally, a medical nexus opinion is needed regarding whether the Veteran's claimed right leg disorder is related to his service-connected cervical spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right leg disorder (claimed as right leg pain), Cervical spine degenerative arthritis, Left upper extremity radiculopathy, Right upper extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 10, 2010
- Citation
- 1042283
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 1042283.
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 a separate 50 percent initial rating for insomnia as secondary to tinnitus, and denied an increased rating for tinnitus. The Board also granted service connection for headache disability, low back disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, cervical spine disability, and right upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal for additional development, including a retrospective opinion regarding range of motion during flare-ups and requesting evidence pertaining to the Veteran's annual income prior to January 2010.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for the cervical spine disability, a 30 percent rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy, and restored a 40 percent rating for right upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for a residual scar from cervical fusion on the basis of disfigurement and granted an initial 10 percent rating based on pain. The Board also denied initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for intervertebral disc syndrome of the cervical spine with spinal fusion and stenosis, as well as right and left upper extremity radiculopathy.
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