The Board remands the claim for a supplemental medical opinion to consider the ameliorative effects of medication on the Veteran's cervical degenerative disc disease.
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to insufficient consideration of the ameliorative effects of medication in the October 2023 VA examination report.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25051920
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 multiple conditions, including bilateral foot disability, knee disability, ankle disability, cervical degenerative disc disease, spondylosis, and cervicalgia, secondary to a service-connected lumbar strain, as well as GERD. The claims of readjudication were also granted.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the neck, left wrist ganglion cyst, and left wrist scar; granted increased ratings for the bilateral CTS and hypertension for part of the periods of appeal; and remanded the issues of increased ratings for bilateral CTS with radiculopathy from June 20, 2022, and entitlement to a TDIU prior to June 20, 2022.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 30 percent for cervical degenerative disc disease, resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical degenerative disc disease, cervical degenerative joint disease, and bilateral upper and lower extremity radiculopathy as the probative evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active military service.
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