The Board remanded all issues to correct errors in the duty to assist and to provide proper notice of the right to a hearing. The Veteran's claims will be reassessed with new examinations considering toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness (MUCMI).
The deciding factor: The Board found that the VA did not adequately assist the Veteran by failing to provide proper medical opinions and notice of a hearing right.
- Claimed conditions
- frequent urination, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal disorder, menstrual disorder, low back pain, right shoulder pain, left shoulder pain, tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25004041
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 931 · Granted: 42% (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 A25004041.
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 claim for service connection of a low back disability was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The claim is denied as there is no evidence that the current condition is related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches as secondary to his service-connected sleep apnea, tinnitus, cervical spine disability, and GERD. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise between the conflicting opinions regarding causation.
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