The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for Lyme disease and remanded all other claims related to various disabilities, including those claimed as secondary to Lyme disease.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted after the October 2016 decision is new and material, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection for Lyme disease. The remaining claims are inextricably intertwined with the Lyme disease claim and must be remanded for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- Lyme disease, Right knee disability, Left knee disability, Hand joint pain, Diplopia, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Digestive issues, GERD, Meningitis, Headaches, Tremors, Neck pain, Right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, Left upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, Low back disability, Left lower radiculopathy, Right lower radiculopathy, Memory loss, Acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2024
- Citation
- 24003309
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a low back disability, residuals of a right foot injury, sinusitis, shortness of breath, allergic rhinitis, and sleep apnea as there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
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