The Veteran's asthma is granted service connection. The claims for PTSD, lumbar spine strain with degenerative disc disease, TBI, migraine headaches, vertigo, and bilateral hearing loss are remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not use a goniometer during the May 2015 VA examination of the Veteran's lumbar spine strain with degenerative disc disease. The Veteran also reported that he was denied an adequate assessment for his PTSD symptoms due to time constraints and interference from prison personnel.
- Claimed conditions
- asthma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lumbar spine strain with degenerative disc disease, triple injury of the left lower extremity, migraine headaches, vertigo, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19186025
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 migraine headaches were granted a 50 percent disability rating, effective August 8, 2023, due to very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that are productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's migraine headaches based on prostrating attacks occurring more than once a month and severe economic inadaptability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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