The Veteran's claims for increased ratings, service connection, and other issues are being remanded due to errors in the duty to assist. Specifically, the AOJ did not inform the Veteran that a VA Form 21-4142 was invalid and therefore unable to be processed. Additionally, new opinions are needed regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder and hypertension.
The deciding factor: The Board found errors in the duty to assist due to the failure to properly process the Veteran's submitted VA Form 21-4142 form, which prevented VA from obtaining relevant medical records. The AOJ must correct this error before any further decisions can be made on the Veteran's claims.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, acquired psychiatric disorder (adjustment disorder with depression), coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, urinary incontinence
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 13, 2022
- Citation
- 22040187
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 22040187.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- 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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
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