The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 30 percent for residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including headaches, and entitlement to total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to inadequate examination reports and incomplete records.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the September 2014 VA examiner's report was inadequate as it did not follow the protocol in VA’s Disability Examination Worksheet for TBI Examination, which may require scheduling of multiple specialty examinations by appropriate examiners to examine each area of dysfunction resulting from the in-service TBI.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, dizziness, acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20044118
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 20044118.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
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