The Board remands the claims for further development of medical records and a new opinion regarding service connection for various disabilities, including Lyme disease, back, neck, and upper/lower extremity conditions.
The deciding factor: Insufficient evidence exists in the current record to determine whether the Veteran's claimed conditions are related to his active duty service. Additional medical evidence is needed to support these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of Lyme disease claimed as arthritis and/or joint pain, Left knee disability claimed as left knee pain, Right knee disability claimed as right knee pain, Right ankle disability, claimed as right ankle pain, Left ankle disability claimed as left ankle pain, Back disability including degenerative disc disease of the spine claimed as a lower back condition, Sciatica of the left lower extremity, Sciatica of the right lower extremity, Neck disability including degenerative arthritis of the spine, claimed as a neck condition, Radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, Radiculopathy of the left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2024
- Citation
- 24004517
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 various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims that five prior rating decisions were products of clear and unmistakable error. The Board found that the Veteran's arguments constituted disagreements with how the Agency of Original Jurisdiction weighed evidence in final prior decisions, which cannot rise to the level of valid CUE claims.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, right knee, right hand, left knee, right ankle, and residuals of a traumatic brain injury due to untimely appeals or lack of evidence supporting current disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA's obligation to obtain relevant records from the Social Security Administration.
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