The Board remands the claims for service connection and increased ratings due to pre-decisional errors in not verifying periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty for training with various reserve units and in obtaining adequate medical examinations.
The deciding factor: The record is unclear regarding the functional loss associated with the Veteran's service-connected disabilities due to deficiencies in the VA examination reports, necessitating further development.
- Claimed conditions
- Recurrent headache disability, Recurrent esophageal disability to include GERD, Left thumb laceration scar residuals, Recurrent right knee disability, Recurrent left knee disability, Recurrent left great toe disability to include ingrown toenail residuals, Recurrent joint disability manifested by unspecified joint pain, Recurrent sleep disability to include obstructive sleep apnea, Recurrent thyroid disability to include thyroid cancer residuals, Psychiatric disability to include PTSD, Right shoulder arthritis (initial rating in excess of 20 percent), Left ankle partial Achilles tendon tear residuals (rating in excess of 10 percent)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25027873
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 918 · Granted: 32% (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 A25027873.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a recurrent sleep disability to include obstructive sleep apnea, and ratings for atrial fibrillation and a right groin scar due to unverified periods of active duty with the Florida Air National Guard.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for unspecified depressive disorder and other specified anxiety disorder, but denied or remanded the claims for service connection for a recurrent temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disability, prostatitis, erectile dysfunction, left elbow disability, esophageal disability to include GERD, gastrointestinal disability to include IBS, headache disability, right shoulder disability, heart disability, bilateral foot disability, and compensable ratings for hemorrhoids and allergic rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a recurrent lumbar spine disability and a recurrent sleep disability to obtain additional evidence and ensure an adequate medical examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a recurrent left knee and foot disability to afford the Veteran VA examinations to determine the relationship between his diagnosed disabilities and active service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.