The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for a thyroid disorder and heart disability due to further development needed regarding inextricably intertwined conditions.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to obtain an addendum opinion addressing whether the Veteran's heart condition preexisted active service, as well as to determine if any currently diagnosed heart condition was aggravated during periods of ACDUTRA or INACDUTRA.
- Claimed conditions
- thyroid disorder, to include hypothyroidism and thyroid carcinoma, heart disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2024
- Citation
- 24002892
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 a heart disability as the evidence did not support that it began during active service or was related to an in-service injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for the service-connected heart disability to correct an error by the AOJ in not informing the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bronchial asthma, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a heart disability associated with the appellant's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The remaining claims were remanded to correct pre-decisional errors.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism, DVT, and a heart disability as secondary to residuals of acute renal failure. The claim for an initial compensable rating for acute hepatocellular necrosis was denied.
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