The Board remands the claims for initial compensable ratings for a left finger fracture, GERD, migraines, and urinary frequency due to the VA's failure to assist by rescheduling the Veteran for VA examinations after his address was updated.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to make reasonable efforts to assist the Veteran by rescheduling the VA examinations after updating his address, which resulted in a duty-to-assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- 4th metacarpal left finger fracture (left finger fracture), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), migraines, urinary frequency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25020988
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (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 A25020988.
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 claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for sinusitis and remanded the Veteran's claims for chronic lower back pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, neck pain, and GERD.
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