The Board has determined that additional examinations and clarification are needed for the Veteran's claims of increased ratings for insomnia disorder, low back and radiculopathy disabilities, and TDIU. The claims are being remanded to allow for further evaluation.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient information regarding the nature and extent of the Veteran's psychiatric symptoms related to his service-connected sleep impairment, as well as the current severity of his low back and radiculopathy disabilities. Additional examinations were deemed necessary to provide a more accurate assessment of these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Insomnia Disorder, Low Back Disorder, Radiculopathy of the Right Lower Extremity, Radiculopathy of the Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19106633
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · Granted: 20% (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 19106633.
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 has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
- Granted
The Board has granted a separate rating for insomnia as secondary to service-connected tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's insomnia is a distinct disability with non-overlapping symptoms from his primary service-connected condition.
- Dismissed
Your previously granted service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, characterized as PTSD with persistent depressive and insomnia disorder, now represents a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal. The appeal is dismissed.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a separate disability rating for an insomnia disorder has been granted. The claims for increased ratings of the neck condition and TDIU prior to January 30, 2023 have been remanded.
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