The Board has remanded five claims: four for service connection and one for psychiatric disorders. The AOJ is directed to obtain SSA records related to the Veteran's disability benefits applications.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to follow up on a previous directive to obtain SSA records relevant to the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- low-back disorder, left-knee disorder, right-knee disorder, hypertensive cardiomyopathy (claimed as enlarged heart), acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002367
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 an acquired psychiatric disorder to correct a duty to assist error, requiring further examination and review of private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as it is unclear whether the Veteran's claimed conditions are due to any incident of his period of active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the Veteran's award of service-connected compensation for headaches and remanded claims for increased rating, service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, right shoulder disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including herniation and bulging disk L4 through S1, knee pain with osteoarthritis, an acquired psychiatric disorder, cubital tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, and neuropathy. However, the Board granted a 30 percent evaluation for chronic headaches.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.