The Board has remanded the case for further development and evaluation of the Veteran's claims, including obtaining addendum opinions regarding the etiology of his radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities and headache disorder.
The deciding factor: The July 2020 VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran's radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities and headache disorder are related to service or if they were aggravated by PTSD with unspecified sleep wake disorder, as raised in the October 2019 VA examination. The Board finds that a remand is necessary for these matters.
- Claimed conditions
- radiculopathy of the left upper extremity (LUE), radiculopathy of the right upper extremity (RUE), a headache disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with unspecified sleep wake disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2021
- Citation
- 21031262
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 21031262.
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 remands the claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine degenerative arthritis and disc disease with IVDS, radiculopathy of the RUE, LUE, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, LLE, and RLE.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for headaches, neck disability, back disability, left knee disability, left shoulder disability, and radiculopathy of the upper and lower extremities to correct a duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the reduction from 30 percent to 10 percent for BPPV was improper and has restored the original 30 percent rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine, cervical spine, right hip, and left hip disabilities have been granted initial ratings from October 26, 2006 to the present. The Veteran also received increased ratings for her radiculopathy of various nerves in both upper and lower extremities.
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