The Board remands the claims for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, traumatic brain injury, a seizure disorder, and headaches as further development is needed.
The deciding factor: The January 2013 VA examination did not comply with the holding in Stewart v. Wilkie, and the November 2012 VA examination was inadequate due to reliance on the absence of contemporaneous medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Seizure Disorder, Headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2024
- Citation
- 24002692
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as the Veteran's symptoms most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal in September 2025, stating that she is now 100% permanently and totally disabled effective April 29, 2025.
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