The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims due to a failure to comply with the duty to assist in obtaining VA medical records. The AOJ is instructed to obtain all outstanding VA treatment records and schedule the Veteran for examinations to address his current conditions, including headaches, skin condition, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous decision did not adequately consider the Veteran's service connection claims due to a lack of compliance with the duty to assist in obtaining VA medical records. The AOJ is instructed to rectify this by obtaining all outstanding VA treatment records and scheduling examinations for the Veteran’s current conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, bilateral arthritis of the feet, left eye disability, residuals of a sexual transmitted disease (UTI and restricted urinary flow), scar in the groin area, hyperkeratotic and lesions or calluses of the bilateral feet, skin condition, headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acquired psychiatric disorder, including paranoid schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19110989
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,614 · Granted: 35% (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 19110989.
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 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 remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the Board found that his current headaches are related to service. Service connection is granted.
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