The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, as service treatment records are missing and a VA examination cannot be conducted without these records.
The deciding factor: Service connection cannot be determined due to the absence of service medical records and an adequate nexus opinion. The case must be remanded to obtain these records or to provide an appropriate examination if they are unavailable.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral foot condition, bilateral knee condition, skin condition, claimed as the result of exposure to poisonous gas
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0906654
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 service connection for a skin condition, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's current skin conditions and his military service.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a back condition, numbness left upper extremity, allergic rhinitis, bilateral foot condition, BHL, ED, insomnia, and sinusitis. The only granted issue was service connection for hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals remands the claims for service connection for a back condition, left leg condition, and bilateral foot condition due to errors in the previous decision.
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