The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for erectile dysfunction is dismissed as he withdrew his claim during the July 2017 Board hearing.,The Veteran’s claims of service connection for a right shoulder disability, pulmonary sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea), and right lower extremity nerve disability are remanded due to insufficient evidence addressing secondary service connection theories.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for a pulmonary sleep disorder is remanded due to insufficient evidence addressing the relationship between his obesity and service-connected disabilities, and whether it was caused or aggravated by his psychiatric disability.,The Veteran’s claim of service connection for a right lower extremity nerve disability is remanded as there is insufficient evidence regarding its current diagnosis and causation with his service-connected lumbar spine disability.,The Veteran's claims of increased ratings for lumbar spine, left knee, right knee, left lower extremity sciatic nerve, and depression are all remanded due to the need for updated VA examinations addressing the functional impact on work from August 11, 2011 through September 2012.,The Veteran's claim of TDIU is remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the increased rating claims and requires additional VA examination to address his employment status during the relevant period.
The deciding factor: During the July 2017 Board hearing, the Veteran expressly withdrew his appeal for an initial compensable disability rating for erectile dysfunction.,The remand is due to insufficient evidence addressing secondary service connection theories in the claims of right shoulder disability, pulmonary sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea), and right lower extremity nerve disability. The VA examiner must address whether these disabilities are caused or aggravated by his service-connected conditions.,The remand is due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between obesity and service-connected orthopedic disabilities in the claim of pulmonary sleep disorder, including a possible link with his psychiatric disability.,The remand is due to insufficient evidence addressing the current diagnosis and causation of the right lower extremity nerve disability. The VA examiner must address whether it is caused or aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine disability.,The remand is due to insufficient evidence regarding the functional impact on work from August 11, 2011 through September 2012 in the claims of increased ratings for lumbar spine, left knee, right knee, left lower extremity sciatic nerve, and depression. The VA examiner must address these issues.,The remand is due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's employment status during the relevant period for his TDIU claim.
- Claimed conditions
- erectile dysfunction, right shoulder disability, pulmonary sleep disorder (hypopnea and hypersomnia with unspecified apnea), right lower extremity nerve disability (peripheral neuropathy), lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, left knee instability with osteoarthritis, right knee osteoarthritis, left lower extremity sciatic nerve disability, depression
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101735
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 remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding its etiology.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied increased ratings for right shoulder impingement syndrome, hearing loss, painful scar, patellofemoral pain syndromes of the knees, and other conditions.
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