The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a neck disability, back disability, hand/finger disability, broken left leg, left leg cramps, left leg nerve disability, left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, psychiatric disability, obstructive sleep apnea, and hypertension, to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the AOJ's failure to obtain adequate VA medical opinions constituted a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error. Therefore, a remand is necessary to correct that error.
- Claimed conditions
- neck disability, back disability, hand/finger disability, broken left leg, left leg cramps, left leg nerve disability, left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, psychiatric disability, to include a depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25055756
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- 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.
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