The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected cervical spine disability is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the AOJ failed to respond to the Veteran's request for a VA examination closer to his residence, which was a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- A20018220
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,421 · Granted: 31% (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 A20018220.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examiner's opinion regarding whether his service-connected disabilities result in loss of use and if so, whether he requires aid and attendance without considering such disability/ies. The Veteran also needs to be considered for SMC R1 based on the need for regular aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine and a rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity prior to June 3, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating and TDIU due to inadequate examination reports in the previous decisions. The Veteran needs a new VA examination to assess his cervical spine disability, including range of motion during flare-ups and repeated use.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent prior to December 26, 2007, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine due to inadequate explanation of denial of higher evaluations.
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