The Board has decided to remand the cases of spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury for further review due to a duty to assist error. The VA examiner's opinion is inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's current diagnoses, including alcohol use disorder and panic attacks.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an adequate rationale regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected mood disorder caused or aggravated his spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2024
- Citation
- A24071731
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 931 · Granted: 42% (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 A24071731.
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 Veteran's initial ratings for anxiety disorder and TBI were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected traumatic brain injury is being remanded due to a procedural error.
- Granted
The Board granted entitlement to SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(t) effective January 21, 2019, based on the appellant's need for regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected TBI.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for TBI is denied. The appeal for entitlement to TDIU is dismissed as moot.
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