The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lower right and left extremity radiculopathy are being remanded due to a duty-to-assist error identified during the appeal process.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty-to-assist error has been identified, necessitating the need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's lower left and right extremity radiculopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- lower right extremity radiculopathy, lower left extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2024
- Citation
- A24025018
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 A24025018.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for lower left extremity radiculopathy due to a concurrent election. The Board has also granted service connection for sleep apnea, finding that it is proximately due to his service-connected PTSD, left ankle condition, and left shoulder condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a cervical spine disability and an increased rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy. The lumbar spine disability issue is also being remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the Board Appeal request was not timely filed within one year of the rating decision, and no good cause for extension was presented.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for restoration of a 40 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and a 20 percent rating for lower left extremity radiculopathy as the ratings were restored in an April 30, 2025 Higher-Level Review (HLR) rating decision.
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