The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability, also claimed as upper back and shoulder conditions due to inadequate response from the February 2021 examiner. The examiner did not address all diagnoses in the record, including those related to the shoulders.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the February 2021 opinion was inadequate and required a new examination to provide an adequate opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine/bilateral shoulder condition.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine, bilateral shoulder sprain, cervicobrachial syndrome, segmental dysfunction of the cervical spine, cervical sprain/strain, cervical spondylosis, cervical brachial radiculitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21028810
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 21028810.
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.
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The appeal for neck pain pinched nerve severe arthritis cervical spine is dismissed as a matter of law. Service connection and increased ratings are granted for major depression, mental disorder anxiety and PTSD, carpal tunnel syndrome (both wrists), and migraine including migraine variants.
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The Veteran's appeals for various conditions and ratings have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing from appellate consideration in December 2025.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death while the appeal was pending.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings and service connection were withdrawn, and the appeal concerning a deferred evaluation for left ear hearing loss was dismissed due to a claims-processing error.
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