The Board has decided to remand the case for a VA medical examination to determine if the Veteran's gait ataxia is related to his service, including exposure to herbicides. The Veteran will be provided with another opportunity to respond after the examination results are considered.
The deciding factor: A VA medical opinion is needed to clarify whether the Veteran's current diagnosis of gait ataxia was caused by his active military service, including as due to herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- gait ataxia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2010
- Citation
- 1000876
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 1000876.
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 neurological disorder, including Parkinson's disease and related conditions, due to lack of evidence showing exposure to herbicide agents during active duty in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for sinusitis, meningitis to include as secondary to sinusitis, and encephalopathy to include as secondary to sinusitis. The remaining claims of service connection are remanded due to the possibility that they may be related to the Veteran's service-connected meningitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability and remanded the remaining issues on appeal, including service connection for meningitis, chronic sinusitis, encephalopathy, skin cancer, Parkinson's disease, headaches, lumbar spine DDD, vision disorder, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, neck stiffness, disability manifested by spitting blood, acquired psychiatric disorder, respiratory disorder, and gait ataxia. The Board also remanded for additional development regarding outstanding records from the James Haley VAMC and Social Security Administration.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for gait ataxia, but the issues of right hip DJD and diabetes mellitus type II, as well as an increased rating for seizure disorder, are remanded due to need for further examination and evidence collection.
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