The Board remands the claims for service connection for various spine and peripheral nerve conditions due to inadequate VA medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The failure to obtain adequate VA medical opinions that consider the entire record to determine the likely etiology of his cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities are pre-decisional duty-to-assist omissions that require correction on remand.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine condition, lumbar spine condition, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2024
- Citation
- A24065221
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 earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA, but denied increased ratings for various service-connected conditions.
- 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 granted service connection for tinnitus, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor. The claims for a cervical spine condition and lumbar spine condition were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and granted initial 40 percent ratings for left upper extremity CTS, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
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