The Board remands the claim for service connection for common headaches to obtain a more adequate medical opinion regarding whether the condition was aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examiner's opinion is inadequate because it relied on an absence of evidence, which does not meet the 'clear and unmistakable' standard required to rebut the presumption of aggravation.
- Claimed conditions
- common headaches
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25031333
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 835 · Granted: 22% (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 A25031333.
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 has remanded the claims for service connection for GERD and common headaches due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The Veteran's current diagnoses of GERD and chronic sinusitis are in dispute, and a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if these conditions are related to her active service or service-connected conditions.
- Dismissed
The appeal for an initial compensable rating for common headaches was dismissed due to a procedural defect, and the claim for a compensable rating for Covid 19 residuals with loss of the sense of taste/hypogeusia was denied as the Veteran's condition only showed partial loss of taste.
- Partly granted
The Board granted separate ratings for the Veteran's right knee and common headache conditions but denied an increased rating for his right knee strain, limitation of extension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for common headaches as the evidence did not support a finding of a nexus between the post-service diagnosis and service, including due to TERA exposure.
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