The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a sleep disorder, cervical spine disability, low back disability, left thumb disability, right leg disability, and left ankle disability, to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claims.
The deciding factor: Further development is necessary to address the inadequacies in the previous medical opinions regarding the etiology of the claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea, cervical spine disability, low back disability, left thumb disability, right leg disability, left ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2025
- Citation
- 25005459
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 multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
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