The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a Statement of the Case on his increased disability rating and earlier effective date claims. The TDIU claim is inextricably intertwined with these issues.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not meet the schedular criteria for a total disability evaluation based solely on service-connected disabilities, but he may be eligible for a TDIU if his psychiatric disorder renders him unemployable due to service-connected disabilities. The claims are remanded as there is no Statement of the Case issued.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Hearing loss, Left hip disability, Tinnitus, Left AC joint disability, Pilonidal cyst
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2016
- Citation
- 1645171
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 1645171.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
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