The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his back disability and bilateral radiculopathy due to a duty-to-assist error in scheduling VA examinations. The Veteran will be provided with an opportunity to undergo these examinations.
The deciding factor: There was a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error in failing to schedule the necessary VA examinations, which is required for proper evaluation of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bulging disc, L4-5 with right radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2024
- Citation
- A24026825
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 A24026825.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and denied the claims for right knee disability, erectile dysfunction, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension. The decision is remanded for further action on these issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for middle and index trigger finger/stenosing tenosynovitis of the right hand, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The earliest effective date is June 30, 2012, for the right hand condition and April 22, 2016, for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have left lower extremity radiculopathy or any related symptoms causing impairment in earning capacity during the appeal period, and therefore service connection for this condition is denied.
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