The Board remands the claims for post-polio syndrome and low back pain associated with preexisting scoliosis to obtain a medical examination and/or opinion in compliance with the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act of 2022 (PACT Act) and due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The PACT Act requires VA to provide a medical examination and obtain an opinion addressing the possibility of a nexus between the claimed disability and toxic exposure, while the RO did not seek further VA examination and/or opinion in which the examiner could review outstanding records.
- Claimed conditions
- low back pain associated with preexisting scoliosis, post-polio syndrome (PPS)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25049566
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25049566.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD is granted as service connected due to his fear of hostile military activity during his Vietnam service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease are being remanded due to the need for VA examinations to determine if these conditions are related to his exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune during service.
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