The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for radiculopathy of both lower extremities due to a duty-to-assist error in not obtaining a VA examination prior to the August 2019 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was insufficient competent medical evidence within the claims file to make a decision on the claim and committed a duty-to-assist error by not obtaining a VA examination before issuing the rating decision.
- Claimed conditions
- r radiculopathy, right lower extremity, r radiculopathy, left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2026
- Citation
- A26010105
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 A26010105.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for radiculopathy, right and left lower extremities, secondary to service-connected low back disability, were previously granted in a March 2023 rating decision. The Board has dismissed the appeal as there are no remaining case or controversy issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability rating for radiculopathy, left lower extremity, was restored to 20 percent effective October 6, 2020. The Board found the reduction from 20 percent to 10 percent improper and ordered a remand for further evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Board has taken jurisdiction of the radiculopathy issues, but the appeal is dismissed as part of the legacy appeals process.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to insufficient evidence from previous examinations, including lack of goniometer measurements for range of motion testing.
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