The Board granted readjudication of six service connection claims based on new and relevant evidence, including hearing testimony and a nexus statement from Dr. Townsend. All six claims were remanded for further development, including obtaining incomplete service treatment records, VA treatment records, private medical records, and adequate VA examinations and medical opinions.
The deciding factor: New and relevant evidence submitted after the last final denial, including testimony at the October 2024 hearing and Dr. Townsend's October 2024 nexus statement, met the threshold for readjudication under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(d), but outstanding service records, VA records, private treatment records, and inadequate prior VA examinations required remand for proper development and adjudication.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, left eye disorder, right eye disorder, right shoulder disorder, hepatitis C, left knee disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25009849
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 27% (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 A25009849.
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 due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
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