The Board remands the case for additional procedural development, specifically to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) addressing whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claims.
The deciding factor: The June 2018 RAMP Opt-In Election form was not valid as it was filled out by a third-party individual who was not the Veteran's authorized representative at the time of submission, thus these matters are to be adjudicated under the legacy appeals system.
- Claimed conditions
- dysthymia disorder, right lower extremity peripheral vascular disease, left lower extremity peripheral vascular disease, sleep apnea, depression, erectile dysfunction/sexual performance loss (ED), fatigue, heart problems/heart disease (heart disorder)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2025
- Citation
- 25002334
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 25002334.
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 claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
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