The Board remands the claims for an initial compensable rating for tension headaches, service connection for a skin condition, asthma, a disability other than asthma manifested by difficulty breathing through the nose (sinusitis), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a disability manifested by fatigue due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The February 2024 medical opinions are inadequate as they rely on an incomplete TERA memorandum, fail to address specific TERAs documented in the Veteran's service records, and do not provide a complete rationale for their conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- tension headaches, skin condition (seborrheic keratosis, prurigo nodularis, acrochordon), asthma, disability other than asthma manifested by difficulty breathing through the nose (sinusitis), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), disability manifested by fatigue
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25024219
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent disability rating for unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder with major depressive disorder, recurrent, and alcohol use disorder in early remission, as well as TDIU due to asthma and SMC at the housebound rate.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on the Veteran's exposure to in-service chemical agents.
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