The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for encephalitis, but has remanded it for further development and an examination to determine the etiology of his symptoms.
The deciding factor: New evidence was received that relates to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claim, thus reopening the case. The Board finds a VA examination is needed to address the etiology of the Veteran's claimed encephalitis.
- Claimed conditions
- encephalitis, neurological condition of the brain with chronic fatigue and unexplained weight loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2018
- Citation
- 18159287
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 18159287.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claims for service connection of pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and encephalitis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The appellant contends that these conditions are related to in-service exposure to toxic chemicals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has referred several service connection claims for the Veteran's claimed conditions, including heart disorder, encephalitis, GERD, pulmonary disorder, hypoxia, and prostate disorder. These claims are remanded due to incomplete VA treatment records and need further evaluation by VA medical experts.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for encephalitis was received on September 4, 2014. The Board finds that the increase in disability occurred on February 16, 2016, when medical evidence reflected unsteady gait and staggering more than once weekly. Therefore, the effective date for a 30% rating is denied as it was not factually ascertainable prior to September 4, 2014.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, encephalitis, ulnar nerve disability, and infertility as the evidence did not show a causal relationship to military service or any service-connected conditions.
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