The Board has determined that more development is necessary before final adjudication of the claims on appeal, including scheduling VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disorder (PTSD) and foot disabilities. The issues of entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, heart disability, bilateral hearing loss, and acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD), as well as whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen these claims are all remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the Veteran's claims require further development due to incomplete documentation of his service treatment records and need for additional medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disability, Lumbar spine disability, Heart disability, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Acquired psychiatric disorder to include PTSD, Right foot disability (hammertoes), Left foot disability (hammertoes)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19186091
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
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