The Veteran's claim for service connection for benign essential tremors, including spasmodic torticollis, is being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The examiner must determine if the condition likely began during service or is related to toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) experienced in service.
The deciding factor: The claim was denied without an examination and medical opinion regarding the onset of the condition during service or its relation to TERA, which are required for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- benign essential tremors, spasmodic torticollis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 22, 2024
- Citation
- A24039819
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 A24039819.
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 granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (adjustment disorder and alcohol use disorder) and unspecified neurocognitive disorder and benign essential tremors (claimed as Parkinson's Disease).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for benign essential tremors and chronic kidney disease, finding that the conditions did not begin within one year of separation from active duty or were not related to service exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tremors as there is no evidence linking the condition to active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in duty to assist and insufficient evidence regarding service connection for Parkinson's disease, benign essential tremors, and REM sleep behavior disorder. The Veteran is presumed exposed to herbicide agents during service but no specific exposure was verified. A VA examination is needed to determine if his current conditions are related to service.
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