The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a heart disability and entitlement to TDIU due to failure to comply with previous remand instructions. The Veteran's heart disability is being examined again to determine if it is at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The examiner was asked to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s heart disability is aggravated (worsened beyond natural progression) by his service-connected PTSD, but failed to address the relevant documents within the record and provided a general statement about atrial fibrillation without discussing the specific evidence related to PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074196
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart disability as the evidence did not support that it began during active service or was related to an in-service injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for the service-connected heart disability to correct an error by the AOJ in not informing the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bronchial asthma, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a heart disability associated with the appellant's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The remaining claims were remanded to correct pre-decisional errors.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism, DVT, and a heart disability as secondary to residuals of acute renal failure. The claim for an initial compensable rating for acute hepatocellular necrosis was denied.
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