The Board remands the claim for service connection of HIV to obtain an adequate addendum opinion regarding its relationship to in-service sexual assault or activities.
The deciding factor: The September 2024 medical opinion is inadequate as it does not address documented sexual activities/assault postdating the Veteran's December 1996 HIV test.
- Claimed conditions
- HIV
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2025
- Citation
- A25085357
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 A25085357.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for PTSD and sleep apnea have been withdrawn. The appeal concerning service connection for HIV has been remanded due to the need for a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for HIV, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, migraine headaches, erectile dysfunction, and Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 was granted effective February 18, 2000.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected HIV and related conditions have resulted in the effective loss of use of his left foot, meeting the criteria for automobile or adaptive equipment eligibility.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for HIV and drug abuse secondary to PTSD with manic depression, finding no evidence of a causal relationship between these conditions and his military service.
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