The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and cervical radiculopathy due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's claim will be remanded for a VA examination to address the etiology of his cervical spine conditions.
The deciding factor: There were duty-to-assist errors in the original decision, specifically regarding the need for an addendum opinion on the service connection for degenerative arthritis and an evaluation of the cervical radiculopathy's relationship to other disabilities or service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, Cervical radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2019
- Citation
- A19002739
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A19002739.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Board has granted separate ratings of 30 percent for left upper extremity cervical radiculopathy and 40 percent for right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, effective March 16, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar and cervical spine are being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ is directed to obtain an addendum medical opinion that addresses the extent of flareups experienced by the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to her service-connected disabilities, finding that she was not unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with her education and work history.
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