The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The VA will obtain additional medical records and reschedule examinations to determine the nature and etiology of her claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to report for scheduled VA examinations, which resulted in the denial of her claims. The Board finds this constitutes a duty-to-assist error and remands the case for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic rhinitis, migraines, status/post concussion, plantar fasciitis, left ankle disorder, tinnitus, right hip disorder, right foot metatarsalgia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20015885
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 a medical opinion on whether plantar fasciitis was aggravated by active duty training.
- 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 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).
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