The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine, right shoulder, right wrist, and right ankle disabilities due to conflicting evidence regarding when and how these conditions were caused or aggravated. The VA is instructed to obtain additional medical records and provide supplemental opinions on whether the Veteran’s current disabilities are secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.,The Board has also remanded the claim for compensation for bladder cancer pursuant to 38 U.S.C. §1151 due to a lack of rationale regarding whether a nerve cluster was severed during surgery and if VA's care caused additional disability.
The deciding factor: The claims are being remanded because there is conflicting evidence about the etiology of the Veteran’s cervical spine, right shoulder, right wrist, and right ankle disabilities. The Board needs to obtain more medical opinions to clarify whether these conditions are secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.,The claim for bladder cancer compensation is being remanded due to a lack of rationale regarding whether a nerve cluster was severed during surgery and if VA's care caused additional disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability, Right shoulder disability, Right wrist disability, Right ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2021
- Citation
- 21005121
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 21005121.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for brain cancer, low back disability, and cervical spine disability due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a radiation dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health. The Veteran's military service aboard USS ENTERPRISE is considered relevant to his exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine condition had its onset in service and has continued since then, meeting the criteria for service connection.
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