The Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as their associated radiculopathy conditions, are remanded for further development. The fibromyalgia with headaches claim is also remanded due to a duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The claims involve multiple service-connected disabilities that must be evaluated together due to shared etiology and the need for additional medical examination to determine their severity accurately.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical degenerative disc disease (DDD), lumbar DDD, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, left lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve, fibromyalgia with headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2026
- Citation
- A26033162
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 A26033162.
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 Board dismissed all issues on appeal as the May 2024 rating decision was a purely ministerial implementation of the April 2024 Board decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine degenerative arthritis. The claims for back pain and right upper extremity radiculopathy are remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations.
- Dismissed
Your initial evaluations for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve have been granted, but your appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU and DEA claims are remanded due to insufficient evidence for a schedular rating, and the issues are inextricably intertwined.
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