The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) for the issue of a higher initial rating for the Veteran's right thumb disability. The January 2015 letter from the Veteran’s attorney effectively raised a new increased rating claim, but it was not accepted as a timely NOD.
The deciding factor: The January 2015 letter did not express disagreement with the initial rating assigned for the service-connected right thumb disability and thus cannot be accepted as a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD).
- Claimed conditions
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), Right Thumb Fracture with Postoperative Excision of Exostosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19163792
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (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 19163792.
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 Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 20 percent. A separate 30 percent disability rating for BPPV associated with his hearing loss was granted.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's BPPV is granted with a separate 10 percent rating from February 5, 2024 to July 15, 2025. From July 15, 2025, the Veteran is entitled to a separate 30 percent rating for dizziness and occasional staggering.
- Granted
The Veteran's BPPV is rated at a separate 10 percent, effective from the date of this decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for vertigo disability to include dizziness and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) due to conflicting medical opinions regarding whether the condition is secondary to service-connected disabilities.
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