The Board remanded all issues to obtain missing service treatment records.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to obtain service treatment records from the Veteran's National Guard unit, which is a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- left finger condition, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with respiratory distress, emphysema, bilateral wrist condition, bilateral leg condition, radiculopathy, bilateral lower extremity, ilio-inguinal nerve as secondary to lower back condition with herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and arthritis, left shoulder condition, radiculopathy left lower extremity, external cutaneous nerve of the thigh as secondary to lower back condition with herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and arthritis, radiculopathy left lower extremity, sciatic nerve as secondary to lower back condition with herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and arthritis, hernia, right knee condition, left elbow condition, insomnia disorder, heart condition, sleep apnea, chronic pain, anxiety
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25006541
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · 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 A25006541.
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 claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
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