The Board remands the claims for service connection, increased ratings, and TDIU to obtain additional evidence in compliance with the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act).
The deciding factor: Remand is required due to the need for a medical examination and opinion addressing the possibility of a nexus between the claimed disabilities and toxic exposure risk activities as per the PACT Act.
- Claimed conditions
- Basal cell carcinoma, Respiratory disability (claimed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), Right foot disability, to include pes planus, metatarsalgia, and Morton's neuroma, Migraine disability, Bilateral hearing loss, PTSD with residuals of traumatic brain injury
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2024
- Citation
- 24003521
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 the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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