The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) are being remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The AOJ is instructed to provide the Veteran with notice of his right to a hearing, schedule him for examinations regarding his headaches and watery eyes, and determine whether he has functional ankylosis of the spine.
The deciding factor: The Board finds remand necessary due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors and issues identified by the parties at the Court in the Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR).
- Claimed conditions
- migraine headaches, thoracolumbar strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2026
- Citation
- A26030857
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 A26030857.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to incomplete medical records and insufficient opinions regarding the relationship between service, including a stick injury in England, and current left eye disability (including amblyopia and cataracts) as well as migraine headaches.
- Granted
The Veteran's migraine headaches are productive of very frequent, completely prostrating and prolonged attacks capable of producing severe economic inadaptability. The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected migraine headaches was granted with an effective date of February 28, 2023.
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