The Board remands the claims for service connection for a right-hand disability, left-hand disability, sleep apnea, and migraines to provide the Veteran with VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The failure to obtain necessary VA examinations constitutes a pre-decisional duty to assist error due to the Veteran's Persian Gulf service and potential toxic exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis, right-hand, Arthritis, left-hand, Sleep apnea, Migraines
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044613
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a low back disability, residuals of a right foot injury, sinusitis, shortness of breath, allergic rhinitis, and sleep apnea as there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
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