The Board has found pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the Veteran's claims for service connection and a compensable evaluation for rheumatic fever, dizziness, fatigue, endocarditis, and atrial fibrillation. The claims are being remanded for additional development including obtaining private treatment records and providing the Veteran with VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The Board identified pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the Veteran's claims related to service connection and a compensable evaluation for rheumatic fever, dizziness, fatigue, endocarditis, and atrial fibrillation. The errors include reliance on inadequate VA examination results and failure to obtain private treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic fever, dizziness, fatigue, endocarditis, atriial fibrillation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- A19002883
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A19002883.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that additional VA opinions are needed to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's dizziness, including benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and tension headaches, including migraines. The opinions should consider the Veteran's participation in a TERA and the combined effect of all his service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for atrial fibrillation, benign prostatic hypertrophy with outflow obstruction, congestive heart failure, and hypertension due to inadequate VA opinions. The Veteran's exposure during service is conceded to include asbestos and gas chamber exposures.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's dizziness condition is rated at a 10 percent disability rating under Diagnostic Code 6204, as the evidence does not show occasional staggering. The Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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