The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining his complete service treatment records, including his separation examination and reserve service records. The VA is required to attempt to obtain these records.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty-to-assist error occurred due to missing STRs, specifically the Veteran's separation examination and reserve service records.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left shoulder disability, right shoulder disability, left wrist arthritis, right wrist arthritis, lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2024
- Citation
- A24066546
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (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 A24066546.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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