The Board has granted earlier effective dates of May 2, 2012 for the awards of service connection for right and left upper extremity radiculopathy as secondary to a service-connected cervical spine disability. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his cervical spine disability and associated bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as his claim for TDIU, are remanded.
The deciding factor: The effective dates were determined based on the earliest date of manifestation of the conditions in question, which was May 2, 2012. The claims for increased ratings and TDIU will be remanded to allow for further development and consideration.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Cervical spine disability, Right upper extremity radiculopathy, Left upper extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2020
- Citation
- 20011117
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 20011117.
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 Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent, the maximum rating available under the General Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The evidence does not support a higher rating as his range of motion did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for vertigo and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's hearing loss is not rated higher than 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a separate rating for chronic pulmonary embolism due to inadequate VA examinations.
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