The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, PTSD, and depression as they were withdrawn by the Veteran. The claims for service connection for a right lower leg condition and left lower leg condition are remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, PTSD, and depression were withdrawn by the Veteran, thus there is no jurisdiction to review these issues. The Board must remand the claims for a right and left lower leg condition due to an inadequate VA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, right lower leg condition, to include lower extremity neuropathy, left lower leg condition, to include lower extremity neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2024
- Citation
- 24004174
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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 claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 17, 2022, for the grant of service connection for PTSD.
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