The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and higher ratings for various disabilities, including a neck scar, cervical spine disability, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support an earlier effective date or a higher rating based on the criteria provided by law and regulation.
- Claimed conditions
- scar, status post cervical spine fusion, cervical spine with fusion and stenosis and degenerative arthritis (cervical spine disability), left upper extremity (LUE) radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25090384
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 749 · Granted: 28% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25090384.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates and increased ratings were dismissed as the appeal requests were not timely filed.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for new VA examinations to determine the current severity of his service-connected cervical spine, lumbar spine, left shoulder, and bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy disabilities. The examination results will be used to determine if increased ratings are warranted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's increased ratings for cervical strain with IVDS and lumbosacral and thoracic strain, as well as service connection for LUE, LLE, and RLE radiculopathy were granted effective May 8, 2023.,Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits were also awarded based on the Veteran's combined 100 percent disability rating.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for cervical and bilateral upper extremities radiculopathy disabilities, as secondary to service-connected shoulders disabilities, due to inadequate medical evidence.
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