The Board has determined that there are missing, pertinent records that must be obtained prior to making an informed decision regarding the service connection claims. These records include VA outpatient records from December 2001 to 2015 and any private treatment records related to the Veteran's claimed disabilities, particularly those from Mercy Hospital in the early 2000s.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there are missing medical records which could provide important information regarding the Veteran's service connection claims. These records may include VA outpatient records from December 2001 to 2015 and any private treatment records related to his claimed disabilities, particularly those from Mercy Hospital in the early 2000s.
- Claimed conditions
- migraines, residuals of a neck injury, bilateral foot disability, left shoulder disability, bilateral leg disability (claimed as secondary to a service connected lumbar spine disability), psychiatric disability (claimed as stress and anxiety)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101993
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19101993.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for residuals of gallbladder removal and remanded the other claims due to insufficient evidence.
- Dismissed
The appeal concerning the service connection claims for various conditions and initial compensable evaluations for service-connected erectile dysfunction and bilateral hearing loss is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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