The Board has found that additional attempts must be made to locate and obtain missing military personnel and service treatment records from March 1995 until July 2000 in order to confirm whether the Veteran suffered his claimed injuries in the line of duty. The Board also notes that the Veteran's representative argues that his current disabilities may have originated from either a January 1982 slip-and-fall accident or an April 1982 car accident, both of which were determined to be in the line of duty.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional attempts must be made to locate and obtain missing military personnel and service treatment records from March 1995 until July 2000 in order to confirm whether the Veteran suffered his claimed injuries in the line of duty.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left foot disability, lower back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000290
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 tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, cubital tunnel syndrome, right plantar fasciitis, and a right knee disability due to the lack of evidence supporting a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 25, 2022, for the award of service connection for tinnitus and a 100 percent initial rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder.
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