The Board has remanded the SMC claim due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's employment status and additional VA and private treatment records are needed. The appeal is now in remand status.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the existing record was not adequate to adjudicate the SMC claim as it lacked information on the Veteran's employment history, which is a requirement for SMC benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), TBI, bilateral pes planus, headaches, back disability, neck disability, left and right leg radiculopathy, tinnitus, pericarditis, hypertension, right ankle disability, left and right knee disorders, left hip disorder, dry eye, irritable bowel syndrome, history of kidney stones
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2021
- Citation
- 21064087
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 21064087.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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