The Board remands the service connection claims for various conditions, including a skin condition, left knee septic condition, psychiatric disorder, high blood pressure, arthritis of both lower extremities, degenerative disc disease of the low back, and jaw/speech impairment.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to obtain additional private treatment records and VA-generated treatment records, as well as an adequate medical opinion regarding the claimed jaw/speech impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- bullous disorder and/or hypertrophic keloid scars, left knee septic condition, acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety, bipolar disorder, insomnia/sleeping disorder, and/or paranoia), high blood pressure, arthritis of the left lower extremity, arthritis of the right lower extremity, degenerative disc disease of the low back, jaw/speech impairment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2024
- Citation
- A24064527
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired mental health condition, to include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, based on new evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bipolar disorder and denied increased ratings for the lumbar disability, left and right sciatica, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased rating of 40 percent from March 7, 2022, for left and right sciatic radiculopathy and restored a 30 percent rating for chronic sinusitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for arthritis of all joints from head to toe, sleep apnea, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, a right knee disability, and a left knee disability as there was no evidence of current diagnoses or etiological relationships to the Veteran's service.
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