The Board remands the claim for service connection for residuals of smallpox vaccination to obtain additional evidence and an adequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The previous medical opinion was found inadequate as it did not consider relevant evidence of record, including the Veteran's reports of symptoms since service and a private physician's association of current symptoms with the smallpox vaccination.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of smallpox vaccination
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2025
- Citation
- 25013336
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (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 25013336.
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 remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a smallpox vaccination for additional development, including obtaining an addendum opinion or scheduling the Veteran for an examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of smallpox vaccination, sinusitis with chronic headaches and sinus infections, and reflux disease.,The Veteran's claims were remanded multiple times due to insufficient evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for residuals of smallpox vaccination, sinusitis with chronic headaches and sinus infection, and reflux disease due to incomplete development as required by the September 2018 Board remand. The VA examiner must address the Veteran's lay statements regarding his symptomatology and relevant STRs.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination. The issues include residuals of smallpox vaccination, sinusitis with chronic headaches and sinus infection, and a gastrointestinal disorder.
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