The appeal for service connection for viral meningitis was dismissed because the January 2025 rating decision was issued for backfill purposes only and did not constitute an adjudicative determination that could be appealed.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that a Notice of Disagreement could not be filed on a decision issued for backfill purposes only, as it lacked the requisite assessment of legal or factual issues.
- Claimed conditions
- viral meningitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25095771
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (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 A25095771.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, depressed mood and anxiety, and viral meningitis. It remanded decisions on bilateral feet abrasions, rash on body, and headache disorder.
- Granted
The Board has granted an initial disability rating of 50 percent for residuals of viral meningitis with migraine headaches, effective from the entire period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to March 29, 2013, for the grant of service connection of migraine headaches has been denied. The Veteran is currently rated at 50 percent for her migraines.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for her service-connected migraine headaches remains denied as there are no additional symptoms or residuals that would warrant a higher rating under the applicable criteria.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of viral meningitis has been denied due to lack of evidence of a present disability and insufficient evidence linking any in-service incident to current symptoms.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of her left hand disability (claimed as a pinched nerve) remains pending, with the issue remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral plantar fasciitis has been granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD) is remanded.,The Veteran's claims for left shoulder and cervical spine disabilities are both pending, with the issues remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of her left elbow injury (claimed as a pinched nerve) remains pending, with the issue remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of peripheral enthesopathy (claimed as shin pain) is pending and has been remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection of polyuria is pending and has been remanded.,The Veteran's claims for service connection of her lumbar spine disability, skin condition (claimed as tinea pedis and toenail fungus), and skin condition (claimed as acne) are all pending and have been remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and further review is needed.
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