The veteran's claim for service connection is being remanded due to missing active duty medical records and the need for additional examinations. The RO will attempt to locate these records, including from the Alabama Army National Guard and NPRC.
The deciding factor: The claims file lacks necessary active duty medical records which are essential for determining the etiology of the veteran's claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, lumbar spine disorder, bilateral knee disorder, bilateral elbow disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2003
- Citation
- 0317575
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 0317575.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired mental health condition, to include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, based on new evidence.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder, diabetes mellitus, and bilateral diabetic neuropathy.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bipolar disorder and denied increased ratings for the lumbar disability, left and right sciatica, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased rating of 40 percent from March 7, 2022, for left and right sciatic radiculopathy and restored a 30 percent rating for chronic sinusitis.
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