The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his inguinal hernia and tinnitus, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination and referral to the Director of Compensation Service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly his inguinal hernia, have made it impossible for him to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder, residuals of an inguinal hernia, tinnitus (ringing in ears), painful scar, scar of the right inguinal area
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2024
- Citation
- 24004838
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 24004838.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder and depression, had its onset during service. Therefore, the claim for service connection is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for SMC based on the need for aid and attendance of another person is being remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA treatment records.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for his service-connected unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder is denied. The effective date for the award of service connection remains June 22, 2018.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of the appeal by the Veteran's authorized representative.
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