The Board has granted the Veteran's appeal for service connection for tinnitus and remanded his claims for service connection for other conditions due to lack of timely NODs, but found that the July 2015 rating decision denying back condition and temporary total disability was final. The remaining issues are being remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) within one year of the July 2015 rating decision, but his representative filed a valid NOD in March 2017 after moving and losing contact with the VA. The Board found that the preponderance of evidence supported the Veteran's claim for tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- back condition, bilateral knee condition, migraines, vision condition (presumably referring to bilateral vision issues), mental health condition (including PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19197163
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 19197163.
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 remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for migraines, finding that his symptoms more closely approximate a 30 percent disability rating.
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