The Board remands the Veteran's increased rating claim for ulcerative colitis to correct a duty to assist error related to VA examinations.
The deciding factor: A new VA opinion is needed as the previous examination did not describe what the Veteran's disability would look like without the impact of his medication, which affects the evaluation under the applicable rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- ulcerative colitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25033676
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 Board granted a 30 percent rating for ulcerative colitis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximate moderately severe ulcerative colitis with frequent exacerbations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of ulcerative colitis to address whether it is secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board granted a request to readjudicate the claim of service connection for ulcerative colitis based on new and relevant evidence, but remanded the issue for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 100 percent for ulcerative colitis and denied increased ratings for lumbar paraspinal tendonitis, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome.
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