The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination as they pertain to service connection for TBI, neck disability, spinal fusion (low back disorder), and headaches.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran has current diagnoses of TBI, neck disability, or low back disorder, and headaches are not related to active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Neck disability, Spinal fusion (low back disorder), Headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19179033
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 granted a rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as the Veteran's symptoms most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal in September 2025, stating that she is now 100% permanently and totally disabled effective April 29, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD with TBI and a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for headaches as secondary to PTSD with TBI due to a duty to assist error.
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