The Board has determined that the January 2021 decision on appeal is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically regarding the adequacy of the medical opinion provided by the VA examiner. The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraine headaches, as secondary to his service-connected cervical strain and related conditions, requires further clarification from an appropriate medical professional.
The deciding factor: The January 2021 decision was remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in providing an adequate opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's migraines and his service-connected spinal conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- migraine headaches, cervical strain, degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal fusion
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24051508
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 A24051508.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to incomplete medical records and insufficient opinions regarding the relationship between service, including a stick injury in England, and current left eye disability (including amblyopia and cataracts) as well as migraine headaches.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of January 13, 2020 for the service connection of low back disability and related radiculopathy issues. The Veteran's claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted in January 2020.
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