The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional examinations and to obtain relevant records. The issues include service connection for various disabilities, including lumbar spine, knee, stress fractures, hearing loss, tinnitus, psychiatric disorders, and migraines.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were insufficient to decide the claims due to conflicting statements in the medical record regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions. The Board requested additional examinations and records to clarify these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, stress fracture of the left lower extremity, stress fracture of the right lower extremity, hearing loss of the right ear, tinnitus, acquired psychiatric disorder (including depressive disorder, panic disorder, and psychotic disorder), migraines
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19104686
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
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