The Veteran's claims for service connection for Bell’s palsy, sinus disorder, and back disorder have been remanded due to the need for additional evidence.,VA treatment records from prior to October 2013 are needed for Bell’s palsy claim; a VA examination is also required.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims require additional medical evidence to determine if his current conditions are related to service or secondary to pre-existing conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disorder, Bell's palsy, Sinus disorder (including rhinitis and sinusitis)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19191869
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (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 19191869.
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 right hip pain, muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition are all granted service connection. However, the claims for muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition were denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection of a cervical spine disability, as it is unclear whether his condition is due to his service-connected Bell's palsy and/or right eyelid scar. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disorder is granted a rating of 10 percent, and his chronic kidney disease is granted service connection based on being secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for Bell's palsy and remanded the low back, radiculopathy, elbow, knee, and pes planus claims due to incomplete records.
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