The Board remands the claims for a compensable rating for hemorrhoids and service connection for right and left hip conditions to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining relevant non-VA treatment records and providing an adequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not obtaining relevant non-VA treatment records and an inadequate medical opinion addressing secondary service connection for the hip conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- hemorrhoids, right hip condition, left hip condition
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25036131
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for hemorrhoids due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring an additional direct medical opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for hemorrhoids, which fully satisfies the Veteran's appeal.
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