The Board remands the claims for service connection and initial rating to correct duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining new medical opinions and providing notice of the right to a hearing.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions were inadequate as they did not adequately consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service symptoms and toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).
- Claimed conditions
- Systemic lupus erythematosus, Right knee disability, Pleurisy with empyema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25026317
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 Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.