The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to concerns about the effective dates of his service connection awards and the need for medical opinions regarding the onset and chronicity of his symptoms.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were inconsistencies in the medical opinions provided, particularly regarding the date of onset of the Veteran's symptoms and their relationship to his Gulf War service. The Board also noted that the effective dates of the awards may not be correct due to a lack of clear evidence supporting specific ratings over time.
- Claimed conditions
- undiagnosed illness manifested by intermittent acid reflux with alternation diarrhea and functional constipation with gastroesophageal reflux disease, paresthesia of the right lower extremity, paresthesia of the right upper extremity, paresthesia of the left lower extremity, paresthesia of the left upper extremity, thoracolumbar spine disorder with intervertebral disc syndrome, left ankle strain with degenerative joint disease, left knee strain with degenerative joint disease, right ankle strain with degenerative joint disease, right knee strain with degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19130461
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (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 19130461.
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 granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the Veteran's obesity, caused by her service-connected hypothyroidism, is an intermediate step between her service-connected condition and her current disability. The Board also found that her bilateral knee disabilities would not have occurred but for her obesity.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities from July 19, 2013 through January 20, 2014 rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of a right ankle condition and left ankle strain with degenerative joint disease was denied due to the untimely filing of the Board Appeal requests.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and the need to consider additional evidence.
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