The Veteran's claim for a temporary total evaluation due to convalescence following cardiac catheterization with stent placement is denied.,Claims for effective dates prior to January 27, 2015, for service connection of PTSD and tinnitus are denied.,Claims for an increased rating for prostate cancer are denied as there was no factually ascertainable increase in disability within one year prior to the claim.,Claims for peripheral neuropathy of various extremities and residuals of malaria are remanded due to incomplete records.,Claims for a higher evaluation for tinnitus, IHD, PTSD, and prostate cancer are remanded.,Claim for TDIU is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's treatment did not necessitate at least one month of convalescence following the cardiac catheterization with stent placement. The criteria for a temporary total evaluation were not met.,There was no communication requesting service connection for PTSD or tinnitus prior to January 27, 2015, and thus an effective date prior to that date is not warranted.,The Veteran did not provide evidence of a factually ascertainable increase in disability within one year prior to the claim for increased prostate cancer. Therefore, the earliest possible effective date was granted.,Incomplete private treatment records were identified, necessitating remand to obtain additional records from Dr. E.G., Stern cardiology, and Southaven Medical Center.,The Veteran's claims for higher evaluations of tinnitus, IHD, PTSD, and prostate cancer are pending due to incomplete evidence.,The claim for TDIU is pending as the Veteran has not provided complete private treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Tinnitus, Peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, Residuals of malaria, Ischemic heart disease (IHD), Prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20064251
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20064251.
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 claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
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