The Board remands the Veteran's claims for service connection to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The failure to obtain relevant VA treatment records and a medical opinion addressing the Veteran's claimed disabilities constitutes a pre-decisional duty to assist error that must be corrected.
- Claimed conditions
- Major depressive disorder, Anxiety, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Headaches, Stroke, Cervical spine disability, Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, Hypertension, Coronary artery disease, status-post myocardial infarction, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Bladder cancer, Erectile dysfunction, Lumbar spine disability, Peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2025
- Citation
- A25029357
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his PTSD is related to an in-service military sexual trauma (MST) during a period of ACDUTRA.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matters for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and conducting VA examinations.
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