The Board remands the claims for readjudication due to new and relevant evidence being submitted since the previous denial.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lay statement detailing his in-service use of pneumatic and power tools, which caused Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), is considered new and relevant evidence. The VA examinations are inadequate as they did not address whether the Veteran's symptoms represent a functional impairment of earning capacity.
- Claimed conditions
- Left hand index finger disorder, Little finger disorder (left), Long finger disorder (left), Ring finger disorder (left), Thumb disorder (left), Right hand index finger disorder, Little finger disorder (right), Long finger disorder (right), Ring finger disorder (right), Thumb disorder (right), Left wrist disorder, Right wrist disorder, Tension headaches, Acute ethmoid sinusitis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2025
- Citation
- A25104999
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (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 A25104999.
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 Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches, which have been service-connected since the grant of service connection, are found to be very frequent and completely prostrating with prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The Board grants an initial 50 percent rating for tension headaches prior to December 1, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches are rated at a 30 percent rating, effective December 26, 2024. The Board found that the Veteran experienced characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on an average of once a month over the last several months, warranting this rating. A higher rating is denied.
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