The Board remands the claims for an initial compensable rating for chronic kidney disease, a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary as the AOJ failed in its duty to assist by not seeking a retrospective opinion to estimate the severity of the Veteran's kidney disease prior to March 2024, which is inextricably intertwined with the TDIU and DEA claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25043348
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,113 · Granted: 47% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25043348.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic kidney disease is rated at 60 percent throughout the appeal period. The claim for TDIU was denied due to lack of information regarding employment history.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on the need of regular aid and attendance due to his psychiatric symptoms.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic kidney disease was granted an increased rating to 60 percent effective June 19, 2025. The decision is based on GFR results from July, August and September 2025.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic kidney disease was granted with an effective date of June 1, 2017. This is the earliest date that medical evidence showed a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease as secondary to his diabetes mellitus.
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