The Veteran's claims for service connection and a higher rating are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors related to incomplete records, including missing STRs and SPRs. The Veteran is also seeking a higher rating for prostate cancer residuals and service connection for gout of the ankles.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for gout of the ankles is also being remanded because VA failed to secure an examination and opinion on whether the disability is related to herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: There are missing records, including STRs and SPRs, which could provide important information about the Veteran's in-service injuries. The AOJ must obtain these records.,VA treatment records from before March 2022 were not associated with the claims file, so VA must ensure all relevant VA treatment records are included.
- Claimed conditions
- knife wound to back with scarring, gout of the ankles
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24072661
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 915 · Granted: 38% (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 A24072661.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to an inadequate prior VA examination and a need for further medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's gout.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional medical records to be obtained and for further adjudication of his claims.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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