The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including valvular heart disease with palpitations, keratoconjunctivitis, left eye, radiculopathy of both upper extremities, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, skin condition, shin splints, meniscal tear, and sleep disturbances, to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that remand is necessary to correct a pre-decisional AOJ duty to assist error, including providing TERA opinions for Persian Gulf War veterans due to presumed toxic exposure in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease with palpitations, keratoconjunctivitis, left eye, radiculopathy, left upper extremity, radiculopathy, right upper extremity, left shoulder pain, right shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, left upper extremity, carpal tunnel syndrome, right upper extremity, skin condition (claimed as tinea corporis), shin splints, left leg, shin splints, right leg, left knee meniscal tear, right strained muscle and tendons, posterior muscle group of lower leg, sleep disturbances (claimed as sleep apnea), to include as secondary to service-connected gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and/or secondary to service-connected anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2024
- Citation
- A24066663
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of his left foot, as there was no evidence showing that the service-connected conditions resulted in functional limitation equal to that of amputation of the left foot with prosthesis.
- Partly granted
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- Denied
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- Partly granted
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