The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the adjudication of several claims, including those related to back pain, asbestos exposure, chest pain/sinus ventricular tachycardia, acquired psychiatric disability (schizophrenia), sleep apnea, fractured right great toe, traumatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic headaches with migraine features, and macular lesion, left eye with scotoma. The Veteran's claims are being remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Board notes that the Veteran submitted various documents in support of his claims but it is unclear from a review of these documents as to which ones are specifically from the Veteran’s Social Security Administration (SSA) file or supplemented by the Veteran himself. The RO should attempt to retrieve the Veteran's outstanding SSA records and associate them with the claims file accordingly.
- Claimed conditions
- back pain, residuals of asbestos exposure, chest pain/sinus ventricular tachycardia, acquired psychiatric disability (schizophrenia), sleep apnea, fractured right great toe, traumatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic headaches with migraine features, macular lesion, left eye with scotoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19159535
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 19159535.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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