The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) due to a duty to assist error, including obtaining verification of the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether any of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities or medications contributed substantially or materially to the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a duty to assist error and remanded for further development including verifying the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease with degenerative joint disease, lumbar spine, Tension headaches, Fractured nose post rhinoplasty repair with allergic rhinitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2024
- Citation
- A24055590
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 A24055590.
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 initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches, which have been service-connected since the grant of service connection, are found to be very frequent and completely prostrating with prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The Board grants an initial 50 percent rating for tension headaches prior to December 1, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches are rated at a 30 percent rating, effective December 26, 2024. The Board found that the Veteran experienced characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on an average of once a month over the last several months, warranting this rating. A higher rating is denied.
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