The Veteran's appeal is remanded for the following reasons: (1) The RO failed to associate VA treatment records from a non-VA provider with the claims file, which constitutes a pre-decisional error. (2) The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) was not developed prior to issuance of the June 2022 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were pre-decisional errors in failing to associate VA treatment records from a non-VA provider with the claims file and in failing to develop the issue of TDIU prior to issuance of the SSOC.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2024
- Citation
- A24074022
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 A24074022.
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 has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities are not related to his active service, including exposure to contaminants at Camp Lejeune or diabetes mellitus.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability, finding that the evidence did not support an in-service injury or disease and that there was no chronicity of symptoms during service. The Veteran's current condition is not related to his service-connected left shoulder disability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple osteoarthritis conditions, headaches, an acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, and gout based on the evidence showing a relationship to the Veteran's active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran is eligible for special monthly compensation (SMC) prior to December 5, 2019 and from July 1, 2021 due to his cervical spine disability. His other service-connected disabilities have a total combined rating of 60 percent or more.
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