The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and a need for an updated opinion regarding the Veteran's claim of entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for swelling of the brain.
The deciding factor: Errors were found in the VA claims file, including missing private medical records and incomplete information about treatment with Trimethoprim medication. The Board also needs a new opinion regarding whether the Veteran's swelling of the brain was caused by VA carelessness or negligence during his treatment for sinus infections.
- Claimed conditions
- swelling of the brain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20074721
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (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 20074721.
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 Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to swelling of the brain is denied as there is no indication that VA treatment caused this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for swelling of the brain, migraine headaches, and a seizure disorder. The evidence did not support these conditions as being incurred in or aggravated by military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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