The Veteran's insomnia and migraine headaches are granted service connection.,The Veteran's back disorder is remanded for further examination and opinion.,The Veteran's BUE disorder, to include cubital tunnel syndrome, is remanded for further examination and opinion.,The Veteran's sleep disorder, other than insomnia, to include obstructive sleep apnea, is remanded for further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: Service connection granted as the Veteran has a current diagnosis of insomnia and migraine headaches that had its onset in service.,Remand due to lack of nexus opinion regarding back disorder. The examiner must consider the Veteran's report of falling down a small embarkment in the motor pool while wearing full battle gear during service.,Remand due to lack of nexus opinion regarding BUE disorder. The examiner must address the effects if any, of the Veteran’s military occupational specialty and lay statements indicating persistent ring and little finger numbness and pain since service.,Remand due to lack of nexus opinion regarding sleep apnea. The examiner must consider the Veteran's reports of stopping breathing during his sleep, snoring excessively, and being tired after sleeping during deployments.
- Claimed conditions
- insomnia, migraine headaches, back disorder, bilateral upper extremity (BUE) disorder, sleep disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19185481
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 19185481.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD was granted with an initial evaluation of 50 percent, effective September 24, 2007. The appeal regarding the heart condition and sleep disorder is denied. The Veteran's hearing loss prior to August 24, 2015, warrants a 20 percent rating.
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