The Veteran's thoracolumbar strain and cervical strain with IVDS are remanded for additional examinations to address functional loss during flare-ups and repeated use.,The Veteran's radiculopathy of the right upper extremity (minor), femoral, and sciatic nerves is also remanded for appropriate peripheral nerve examinations.
The deciding factor: The current VA examination reports are inadequate due to lack of consideration of functional loss during flare-ups and repeated use.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar strain, Cervical strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Radiculopathy of the right upper extremity (minor), Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (femoral), Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (sciatic)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 25, 2024
- Citation
- A24068888
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,549 · Granted: 29% (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 A24068888.
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 the appellant's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including cervical strain, elbow and knee conditions, radiculopathy of upper and lower extremities, thoracolumbar strain, and GERD. The effective date is set at September 13, 2023.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the Board Appeal request was not timely filed with respect to the rating decision issued on October 21, 2021.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to non-compliance with previous instructions. The Veteran's thoracolumbar strain and degenerative arthritis, cervical strain, and LLE radiculopathy cases are still pending for higher evaluations.
- Granted
The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar strain, effective from January 24, 2014. The decision is based on evidence of functional equivalent to unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
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