The Board remands the claims for service connection for cervicothoracic pain, hypoesthesia and paresthesia of both upper extremities, lumbar spine disability, PTSD with persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and traumatic brain injury due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The Board finds multiple pre-decisional duty to assist errors have occurred, necessitating a remand for additional evidence and examination.
- Claimed conditions
- cervicothoracic pain, hypoesthesia and paresthesia of the right upper extremity, to include as secondary to cervicothoracic pain, hypoesthesia and paresthesia of the left upper extremity, to include as secondary to cervicothoracic pain, lumbar spine disability, status post-lumbar discectomy (L4-L5) with residuals, to include as secondary to service-connected knee disabilities, PTSD with persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25050897
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 granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee, right hip, and lumbar spine disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability but denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for his left knee disability prior to April 25, 2019.
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