The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back disability, migraines, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and dysthymic disorder as new and material evidence has been submitted since the last final denial.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the submission of new and material evidence that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, migraines, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, dysthymic disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2024
- Citation
- 24002364
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 remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for migraines, finding that his symptoms more closely approximate a 30 percent disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for migraines, including as secondary to cervical strain, due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors in not translating relevant Spanish documents and ensuring a VA examiner considered all evidence.
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