The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of inpatient hospital records and need for a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: Incomplete documentation of inpatient treatment from service is preventing proper evaluation of the Veteran's claims.
- Claimed conditions
- encephalitis, head injuries
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20079540
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 20079540.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claims for service connection of pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and encephalitis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The appellant contends that these conditions are related to in-service exposure to toxic chemicals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has referred several service connection claims for the Veteran's claimed conditions, including heart disorder, encephalitis, GERD, pulmonary disorder, hypoxia, and prostate disorder. These claims are remanded due to incomplete VA treatment records and need further evaluation by VA medical experts.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for residuals of a head injury, including TBI and headaches, has been dismissed. The issue of entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for encephalitis was received on September 4, 2014. The Board finds that the increase in disability occurred on February 16, 2016, when medical evidence reflected unsteady gait and staggering more than once weekly. Therefore, the effective date for a 30% rating is denied as it was not factually ascertainable prior to September 4, 2014.
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