The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining additional medical opinions and records.
The deciding factor: The September 2022 VA examination reports are inadequate as they failed to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset of symptoms in service as well as his current level of pain and resulting functional impairment. Additionally, there is a need for TERA opinions due to presumed toxic exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with persistent depressive disorder, Left ankle disability, Left hip disability, Left lower extremity (LLE) disability, Left shoulder disability, Left wrist disability, Right ankle disability, Right hip disability, Right lower extremity (RLE) disability, Right shoulder disability, Right wrist disability, Sinusitis, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, degenerative arthritis, and spondylosis, Tinea pedis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25028599
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 A25028599.
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 is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
Your appeal of the March 28, 2025 rating decision that deferred adjudication of your right hip disability claim has been dismissed.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
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