The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA's obligation to obtain relevant records from the Social Security Administration.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary to obtain any outstanding SSA records as per VA's duty to assist.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disability, Pulmonary embolism, Bilateral hearing loss, Cholecystitis, Eyelid disability, to include drooping eyelids, Glaucoma, Enlarged prostate, Kidney disability, Hypertension, Obstructive sleep apnea, Vertigo, Skin disability, to include dermatitis, Right shoulder disability, Left shoulder disability, Right elbow disability, Left elbow disability, Right wrist disability, Left wrist disability, Right ankle disability, Left ankle disability, Left foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25108158
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 857 · Granted: 35% (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 A25108158.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right elbow disability and a nasal disability, finding that there was no evidence of in-service injury or disease resulting in these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
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