The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating determinations due to incomplete development, including a missing medical report and an addendum opinion on the nature and etiology of his TBI. The AOJ is instructed to obtain the missing report and provide an addendum opinion addressing whether the Veteran has a current disability related to a TBI and if so, whether it is related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA examiner's opinions were not probative due to their failure to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding his in-service head injury. The AOJ must obtain the missing medical report and provide an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Occasional finger numbness, tingling, and joint pain of the left hand, Migraine headaches, Frontal sinusitis, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Hemorrhoids with blood in the stool, Lumbosacral and thoracic strains, Tinea corporis, Bilateral hearing loss, Cervical spine condition, Colon polyps, Dizziness, Hernia, Right hip condition, Left hip condition, Right shin splints, Left shin splints, Right shoulder condition, Left shoulder condition, Numbness and tingling of the right leg and toes, Numbness and tingling of the left leg and toes, Right hand condition (occasional finger numbness, tingling, and joint pain), Rhinitis, Right ankle condition, Right elbow condition, Right knee condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2024
- Citation
- 24033257
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 22% (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 24033257.
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 Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for Dupuytren's contracture of the left hand, right hand, and GERD is remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions and failure to consider toxic exposure risk activities during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's GERD is currently rated at 10 percent disabling, but the Board found that his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), finding that both conditions are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lower back condition and sinusitis, respectively.
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