The Veteran's claims for service connection for disfigurement residuals of laser hair removal, obstructive sleep apnea, and hypertension are remanded due to the need for medical examinations.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to June 11, 2018, for the grant of service connection for low back scar is remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with his right shoulder arthritis claim.,The Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent from March 7, 2020, for lumbar spondylosis and status post-surgical debridement are remanded due to the need for medical examinations.
The deciding factor: Medical examination is required to determine the nature, onset, and etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities.,The effective date claim is inextricably intertwined with the right shoulder arthritis claim, thus both must be remanded concurrently.,A new VA examination is needed to evaluate the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spondylosis and status post-surgical debridement.
- Claimed conditions
- Disfigurement residuals of laser hair removal, Obstructive sleep apnea, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2024
- Citation
- 24002022
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 22% (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 24002022.
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.
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The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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