The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals of a traumatic brain injury, a rating in excess of 20 percent for a left shoulder disability, and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities for further evidentiary development.
The deciding factor: The AOJ's failure to obtain updated VA examinations in light of evidence of an increase in severity of the Veteran's disabilities constitutes a pre-decisional duty to assist error, and thus, the claims must be remanded to schedule the Veteran for VA examinations to assess the current severity of his residuals of a TBI and left shoulder disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a traumatic brain injury, Left shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25025051
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 945 · Granted: 43% (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 A25025051.
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 TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) with agoraphobia with panic attacks as directly related to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including low back, left hip, right hip, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities. The VA examinations did not provide adequate opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
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