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
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for anxiety but denied it for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's sleep apnea was less likely than not related to his active service or service-connected acquired psychiatric condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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