The Board remands the claim for further development, including obtaining an adequate medical opinion and providing proper notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing.
The deciding factor: The February 2024 VA examiner did not provide an adequate opinion regarding both causation and aggravation between the Veteran's service-connected left shoulder disability and his cervical spondylosis with radiculopathy, and the AOJ failed to notify the Veteran of his right to a hearing under 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(d)(1).
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spondylosis with radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25046677
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 931 · Granted: 42% (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 A25046677.
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 case due to the need for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's neck condition, including whether it is related to service or aggravated by Gulf War exposures. The examiner must consider all applicable deployments and toxic exposure risk activities.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral upper extremity numbness, finding that it had its onset during service. The issue of whether a cervical spine disorder is related to service was also addressed and found in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that there is no evidence showing the condition was manifested in service or to a compensable degree within one year following separation from active duty.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disorder as the evidence did not show it was incurred or aggravated by military service.
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