The Board remands the claim for service connection for migraine as secondary to tinnitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in failing to schedule and/or reschedule a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The AOJ committed a pre-decisional duty to assist error by failing to initially schedule and/or reschedule the VA examination, which is necessary for a factually informed and fully explained VA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- migraine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25025457
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for migraine and muscle tension headaches, including as secondary to bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, otitis media, and spine arthritis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for several conditions and dismissed claims related to effective dates, with the exception of granting an initial 30 percent rating for irritable bowel syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for migraines due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for the Veteran's migraine, including migraine variants, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
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