The Board remands the claims for service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right upper extremities as they must be further developed to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The May 2022 VA medical opinion is inadequate in several respects, including failure to consider relevant medical history and addressing aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, Radiculopathy of the right upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2024
- Citation
- A24064490
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims that five prior rating decisions were products of clear and unmistakable error. The Board found that the Veteran's arguments constituted disagreements with how the Agency of Original Jurisdiction weighed evidence in final prior decisions, which cannot rise to the level of valid CUE claims.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the service-connected left upper extremity radiculopathy, effective from August 3, 2023.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of September 20, 2022 for the assignment of service connection and a disability rating of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity from September 20, 2022 to March 20, 2024.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including iliotibial band syndrome of the left knee, a cervical spine disability, radiculopathy of the right and left upper extremities, alopecia totalis, a right hip disability, a left hip disability, a right elbow disability, a right shoulder disability, and a left shoulder disability.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.