The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims for service connection, including hearing loss, tinnitus, PTSD, major depressive disorder, shoulder disorders, elbow disorders, wrist disorders, low back pain, right ankle joint pain, and left foot disorder. The appeal is not about service connection at all in some cases.
The deciding factor: The issues are remanded as the Veteran has provided evidence of current disabilities that may be related to his active duty service but VA needs to obtain additional records and conduct examinations to determine if these conditions were incurred or caused by service.
- Claimed conditions
- status-post left patellar dislocation, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, bilateral shoulder disorder, bilateral elbow disorder, bilateral wrist disorder, low back disorder, right ankle disorder, left foot disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20073296
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.
- 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 claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- 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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