The Board remands the claims for service connection for cervical spine, lumbar spine, bilateral upper and lower extremity radiculopathy, and incontinence to ensure VA's duty to assist is satisfied.
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding an adequate VA examination that did not address the Veteran's contentions adequately.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine (neck) disability, lumbar spine (back) disability, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy as secondary to cervical spine disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to lumbar spine disability, incontinence as secondary to lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25026378
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 denied service connection for multiple disabilities, including a right hip disability, left ankle disability, right trigger finger disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus, sleep apnea, cervical spine (neck) disability, lumbar spine (back) disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and erectile dysfunction. The appeal was dismissed for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder due to the grant of an unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a right forehead scar and remanded the claims for service connection of various other disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, type II, and hypertension. The claims for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and other conditions were denied or remanded.
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