The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating, including obtaining missing service treatment records and scheduling VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient compliance with previous remand directives regarding the Veteran's missing service treatment records and requested rescan of the records. Additionally, there was a need to clarify whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is related to his active duty service or any other factors.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart Disability, High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (Bipolar Disorder), Thoracolumbar Spine Disability, Right Leg Disability, Left Leg Disability, Right Shoulder Disability, Left Shoulder Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2023
- Citation
- 23042049
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 23042049.
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 Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date before April 1, 2018 for a 20% rating for left shoulder disability was denied. The appeal also resulted in the assignment of a 20% rating from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018, and a TDIU granted from April 1, 2018 to September 3, 2025.
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