The Veteran's appeal is remanded for the following reasons: obtaining potentially relevant private treatment records, clarifying any SSA claim, and obtaining an addendum opinion regarding whether his fibromyalgia is aggravated by a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional evidence is needed to fully adjudicate the Veteran's claims, including obtaining private treatment records, clarifying any SSA claim, and providing an addendum opinion on the relationship between his fibromyalgia and service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, tension headaches, left carpal tunnel syndrome with cervical radiculopathy, status post fusion C5 with spondylosis C5-6, anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2024
- Citation
- 24001199
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24001199.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches as secondary to his service-connected sleep apnea, tinnitus, cervical spine disability, and GERD. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise between the conflicting opinions regarding causation.
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