The Board remands the claim for a hernia, to include addressing whether the character of the appellant's discharge is a bar to VA benefits due to willful and persistent misconduct.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty to assist error requires obtaining missing personnel records, including performance evaluations and trial records, to determine if the specific offenses leading to the discharge can be mitigated by service that is otherwise honest, faithful, and meritorious.
- Claimed conditions
- hernia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25053435
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 A25053435.
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
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for various conditions including hypoglycemia, sinusitis, left foot pes planus, right foot pes planus, right foot plantar fasciitis, left ankle pain, left hip osteoarthritis, left knee sprain, bradycardia, dry eye, hernia, hypercholesterolemia, and bilateral hearing loss.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claims for GERD, bilateral ankle pain, tendonitis and plantar fasciitis of the bilateral feet, and hernia have been granted. The claim for service connection for a lower back condition to include constant pain, fatty liver disease, multiple times high heat dehydration risk, and hepatitis A has been withdrawn.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for various conditions as the appellant withdrew his appeal.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for hernia, supraventricular arrhythmia, COPD, and hypertension have been granted. The initial rating for hypertension has also been granted at a 10 percent level. Service connection for residuals of broken breastbone, residuals from broken ribs, deviated septum, PTSD, and lumbosacral strain are all remanded.
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