The Veteran's appeal of the claim for an effective date prior to May 26, 2016 for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine has been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals of the claims for higher initial disability rating for fibromyalgia and earlier effective date for service connection for fibromyalgia have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal of the claim for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed.,The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea due to inadequate medical opinion provided in the previous VA examination.
The deciding factor: The effective date assigned by the RO is based on the earliest date of receipt of a claim, which was May 26, 2016. The Veteran did not file an earlier claim for service connection prior to this date.,The initial disability rating for fibromyalgia has been increased but the Veteran has not expressed satisfaction with the increase.,The effective dates for service connection for fibromyalgia and PTSD have been denied as the Veteran withdrew his appeals of these issues.,The VA medical opinion provided in December 2019 did not address all aspects required by the Board's June 2019 remand, specifically regarding the relationship between sleep apnea and the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, Fibromyalgia, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2023
- Citation
- 23002250
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 23002250.
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 has remanded two issues: entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 20 percent prior to March 23, 2009 for degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine and entitlement to an extraschedular disability rating for the same condition. The Veteran is asked to provide lay statements from individuals who have observed his symptoms during flare-ups and without medication. A retrospective medical opinion is needed to assess the severity of his condition prior to March 23, 2009.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has identified a contradiction in the AOJ's determinations regarding the Veteran's need for aid and assistance, which requires clarification. The remanded issues are entitlement to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another and on the basis of statutory housebound status.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased rating and earlier effective date for PTSD have been dismissed due to her withdrawal of the appeal.
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