The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA and non-VA treatment records, an addendum opinion from the September 2015 VA examiner, and a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran has pancreatitis or residuals thereof, if any, and their relationship to his service-connected ulcerative colitis.
The deciding factor: The remand is necessary due to inconsistencies in the record regarding the Veteran's diagnosis of pancreatitis and its relation to his active service and service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatitis, ulcerative colitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2018
- Citation
- 1800021
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 Board granted a 30 percent rating for ulcerative colitis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximate moderately severe ulcerative colitis with frequent exacerbations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of ulcerative colitis to address whether it is secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board granted a request to readjudicate the claim of service connection for ulcerative colitis based on new and relevant evidence, but remanded the issue for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 100 percent for ulcerative colitis and denied increased ratings for lumbar paraspinal tendonitis, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome.
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