The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), increased initial disability ratings for his lumbar spine, cervical spine, migraine headaches, dysphagia, and right shoulder conditions, and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
The deciding factor: The claims are remanded as there is conflicting evidence regarding the Veteran's current diagnosis of IBS and additional evidence suggesting that his service-connected disabilities may have worsened.
- Claimed conditions
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, migraine headaches, osteoarthritis of the cervical spine, dysphagia, labral tear, including superior labral anterior-posterior lesion (SLAP) of the right shoulder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004118
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 migraine headaches were granted a 50 percent disability rating, effective August 8, 2023, due to very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that are productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's migraine headaches based on prostrating attacks occurring more than once a month and severe economic inadaptability.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches as proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches, but no greater.
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