The Board remands the issues of service connection for osteopenia, an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for CAD, and an initial compensable rating for hypothyroidism to correct a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the December 2023 decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: The remand is necessary due to missing VA treatment records from VistA Imaging system that were not associated with the claims file before the December 2023 rating decision, and efforts must continue to obtain these records unless they do not exist among the VistA systems records.
- Claimed conditions
- osteopenia, coronary artery disease (CAD), hypothyroidism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2024
- Citation
- A24069214
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 service connection for a deviated septum and denied compensable ratings for allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, hypothyroidism, and hypertension.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism, as it is presumptively linked to herbicide agent exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for left foot bursitis and coronary artery disease, as well as special monthly compensation based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hypothyroidism and remanded the claim for service connection for lipomas (claimed as cysts surgery).
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