The Board remands the claims for a recurrent skin disability, sleep disability, respiratory disability, esophageal disability, left ankle disability, gastrointestinal disability, hypertension, and lumbar spine disability to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for further development.
The deciding factor: Further VA examinations are needed due to pre-decisional errors in the current evidence regarding the etiology of the claimed disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- pseudofolliculitis barbae, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic cough, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), left ankle disability, diverticulitis and colon surgery residuals, hypertension, lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044499
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 service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and pernicious anemia, and the Board dismissed both appeals.
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