The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for residuals of meningitis, chronic headaches, low back disability, sciatica of the lower extremities, and left ankle disability due to in-service injuries. The issues are being remanded for further development including obtaining private treatment records, scheduling formal cognitive evaluations, and providing addendum opinions regarding etiology.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional evidence is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions, particularly with regards to his in-service injuries and exposure history.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of meningitis, organic brain disease (claimed as encephalitis), chronic headaches, low back disability (lumbar strain and degenerated discs), sciatica of the left lower extremity, sciatica of the right lower extremity, left ankle disability (chronic strain and arthritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069606
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the evaluation in excess of 30 percent for chronic headaches was dismissed by the Veteran prior to the promulgation of a decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's request for higher-level review of the November 2014 rating decision was denied as untimely.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right hip strain, left and right ankle pain, and bilateral plantar fasciitis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disability. The claims for allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, chronic headaches, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and post traumatic residual pain and cramping of the left lower leg were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for chronic headaches was granted, while claims for bilateral hearing loss, chronic fatigue syndrome, a higher rating for contusion of the left great toe, and an initial compensable rating for allergic rhinitis were denied.
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