The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
The deciding factor: A remand is necessary because the Veteran's complete service treatment records, including his separation examination and reserve service records, have not been associated with the claims file, which may indicate whether any findings or complaints were made regarding the claimed disabilities during service.
- 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
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2024
- 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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left shoulder disabilities, as the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
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