The Veteran's service-connected disabilities of the cervical spine, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and lumbar spine are remanded for additional examinations to assess their current severity. The Veteran is also remanded for service connection on the merits for a left wrist disability, left shoulder tendinitis, and chest pain.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's assertions indicate possible worsening of his service-connected disabilities, requiring new VA examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Left upper extremity radiculopathy, Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Left wrist disability, Left shoulder tendinitis, Chest pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20000772
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 20000772.
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 claim of service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) secondary to bilateral plantar fasciitis and left shoulder tendinitis due to inadequate medical opinion regarding causation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability with left upper extremity radiculopathy, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or chronic condition. The Board concluded that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for direct service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
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