The Veteran's claim for higher initial ratings for cervical spine degenerative changes is being remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The VA needs to obtain medical records from two air force base clinics.
The deciding factor: There was a duty-to-assist error in obtaining relevant medical records from the Veteran's treatment at Air Force bases during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2024
- Citation
- A24075339
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · 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 A24075339.
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 Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine degenerative changes, left shoulder degenerative changes, lumbar spine degenerative changes, and right shoulder osteoarthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran was not afforded VA examinations for these conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's low back condition, cervical spine degenerative changes, and PTSD with TBI, but granted a 10 percent rating for post-traumatic headaches. The Board also remanded service connection for a bilateral foot condition.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical spine degenerative changes, left foot degenerative changes, and obstructive sleep apnea on a direct basis. The issues of entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and thyroid disability were remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a 50% rating for migraine headaches and a 70% rating for right upper extremity radiculopathy effective July 20, 2022. Additionally, service connection for tinnitus rated at 10% and a 30% rating for cervical spine degenerative changes were granted effective July 20, 2022.,The Veteran was also granted an increased rating of 30% for his cervical spine degenerative changes and service connection for tinnitus rated at 10%. These benefits became effective on September 27, 2022.
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