The Board remands the claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, and left upper extremity radiculopathy due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: No adequate medical opinion has been obtained regarding any of the disabilities on appeal, as the VA examiner's sole rationale was the absence of contemporaneous evidence in the service treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine (neck), Degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine (back), Radiculopathy, left upper extremity, upper radicular nerve (LUE radiculopathy)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25032436
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection and initial rating claims has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to specially adapted housing for a VA examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, spinal fusion, and spondylolisthesis and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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