The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and adjudicating his claim of service connection for hypertension. He also needs to undergo a medical opinion regarding the likely etiology of his current end stage renal disease. His claims of service connection for a back disability and an increased rating for his knee disabilities are also pending.
The deciding factor: The appeal is being remanded due to incomplete evidence, including missing service personnel records that may contain information about chemical exposure during service. The Veteran's claim of hypertension needs to be adjudicated first as it is inextricably intertwined with the renal disease claim. A medical opinion regarding the likely etiology of his end stage renal disease is also needed.
- Claimed conditions
- end stage renal disease, chronic back disability, chondromalacia of the left and right knees, with degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2012
- Citation
- 1224093
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 1224093.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by end stage renal disease, which the VA clinician concluded was due to his hypertension. The private clinician opined that the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange in service, along with service-connected PTSD, caused the development of his hypertension and contributed substantially to his end stage renal disease.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by end stage renal disease, which the VA clinician concluded was due to his hypertension. The private clinician opined that the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange in service, along with service-connected PTSD, caused the development of his hypertension and contributed substantially to his end stage renal disease.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by end stage renal disease, which the VA clinician concluded was due to his hypertension. The private clinician opined that the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange in service, along with service-connected PTSD, caused the development of his hypertension and contributed substantially to his end stage renal disease.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection of end stage renal disease and ureterolithiasis is dismissed due to the death of the appellant while the appeal was pending.
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