The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical strain and right lower extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate reasons and bases in the prior decisions, specifically regarding the credibility of the Veteran's subjective symptoms and the adequacy of the examinations conducted.
The deciding factor: The Joint Motion found that the Board had failed to provide adequate reasons and bases for denying higher ratings for cervical strain and right lower extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate explanations provided by prior VA examiners regarding the credibility of the Veteran's subjective symptoms and the adequacy of their examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical strain, Right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2024
- Citation
- 24033180
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24033180.
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 Veteran's claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for cervical strain, service connection for left leg pain (claimed as joint pain), and service connection for a left ear hearing condition are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy was evaluated at a 20 percent rating, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease prior to August 1, 2025 was denied as the evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine.,The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to March 10, 2025 were denied as there is no neurological impairment associated with these conditions.
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