The claims for increased ratings for the Veteran's cervical spine disability and right upper extremity radiculopathy are remanded, while the claim for left upper extremity radiculopathy is also remanded due to a Joint Motion for Partial Remand.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to obtain additional private treatment records and an updated medical opinion regarding facial paresthesia.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine with spinal stenosis, Radiculopathy of the left upper extremity (from July 11, 2016 to July 27, 2021), Radiculopathy of the left upper extremity (on and after July 28, 2021), Right arm radiculopathy (prior to March 27, 2018), Right arm radiculopathy (from March 27, 2018 to July 27, 2021), Right arm radiculopathy (on and after July 28, 2021)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2025
- Citation
- 25003568
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 25003568.
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 service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine with spinal stenosis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his in-service injury and resolving all doubt in his favor.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's cervical spine and right and left upper extremity disabilities, finding that the current ratings accurately reflect the severity of his disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to readjudicate the claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine with spinal stenosis and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with spinal stenosis. The claims are being remanded due to a lack of contemporaneous medical records.
- Denied
The Veteran's COPD was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and the Board denied service connection for this condition.,For the whole period on appeal, radiculopathy caused moderate incomplete paralysis of both upper extremities. The Veteran received a rating of 40 percent prior to March 5, 2019 for right upper extremity radiculopathy and a rating of 30 percent after that date for left upper extremity radiculopathy.,The Veteran's cervical spine disability was rated as 10 percent before March 5, 2019 and 30 percent thereafter. The Board found no evidence to warrant higher ratings based on the severity of symptoms.,Migraine headaches were not manifested by very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.
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