The Board has remanded the claims for increased rating, service connection for twisted back, and right arm injury due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's Meniere’s disease caused or aggravated these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not provide sufficient detail on whether the Veteran had episodes of cerebellar gait, pinched nerves in the upper left and mid spine, or a current diagnosis of right lateral epicondylitis. The medical opinions were also inadequate as they only considered one incident of falling due to Meniere’s disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Meniere’s disease, twisted back (pinched nerves cervical radiculopathy, middle spine, and upper left spine), right arm injury (ulnar nerve damage)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19150123
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 Meniere’s disease is rated at 100 percent, the highest possible rating, due to symptoms including hearing impairment with tinnitus and attacks of vertigo occurring more than once a week.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and Meniere’s disease, to include vertigo, have been granted. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and OCD, has been dismissed as the issue is moot due to a previous grant of service connection in May 2013. The claim for service connection for chronic renal disease, to include hypertensive chronic kidney disease and stage 3 chronic kidney disease, has also been granted but is now moot.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension was granted, and his meralgia paresthetica of the right thigh was restored to a 10% rating. The remaining issues were remanded.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or contributed to by service-connected Meniere’s disease, and therefore denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.