The Board remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings for cervical spine degenerative disc disease, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral knee disabilities due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
The deciding factor: There was not substantial compliance with the January 2023 remand directives as scheduled VA examinations were not conducted properly.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel cervical spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy, right knee degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2024
- Citation
- 24000822
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee meniscal tear with degenerative arthritis and granted a separate 20 percent rating for right knee instability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, left and right hip pain, right knee degenerative arthritis, generalized anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis and a rating of 30 percent for left knee joint instability, while remanding other issues.
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