The Board remanded the Veteran's claim for TDIU for the period prior to August 20, 2021 for extraschedular consideration by the Director of Compensation Service. Although the Veteran did not meet schedular criteria under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a), evidence including a private vocational expert opinion indicated he may have been unemployable due to service-connected disabilities since at least January 1, 2014.
The deciding factor: The Board found sufficient evidence of record, particularly the private vocational expert opinion that the Veteran's service-connected conditions rendered him unable to work prior to August 2021, required a pre-decisional duty to refer the matter for extraschedular consideration under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b).
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic pain, Difficulty sleeping, Inability to focus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2025
- Citation
- A25017495
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 896 · Granted: 51% (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 A25017495.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and TDIU was granted, with a 100% rating for CAD from March 3, 2023 to June 30, 2023, and a 60% rating thereafter. Separate ratings were also assigned for chest scars status post CABG.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is denied.,Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a cervical spine disorder and chronic pain caused by his surgeries is denied due to lack of fault on the part of VA in recommending or performing the procedures.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease off the cervical spine with spinal fusion and cervical spondylosis myelo, and left upper extremity radiculopathy (claimed as left arm weakness), but denied service connection for chronic pain.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted as secondary to the service-connected lumbar disability. The claim for chronic pain and insomnia are remanded.
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