The Board has decided that a VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's right lower extremity disability, including peripheral neuropathy, is related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service. The claim will be remanded for this purpose.
The deciding factor: The claim requires an evaluation of whether the Veteran's current right lower extremity disability, including any identified peripheral neuropathy, is early-onset and associated with herbicide exposure or otherwise related to his period of active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right lower extremity disability, Peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18122098
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 18122098.
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 service connection claims for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities have been granted due to exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection of a right lower extremity disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as her eligibility for specially adapted housing. The decision also granted her eligibility for special home adaptation due to permanent total service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for hypertension, warts, and bilateral lower extremity disabilities due to errors in creating an adequate TERA memorandum and failure to obtain a TERA nexus opinion. The VA RO is required to create a new TERA memorandum considering all possible TERAs, including those related to Persian Gulf service, asbestos exposure at Fort McClellan, and the Veteran's MOS. A new TERA nexus opinion must be obtained for each of these disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection and special monthly compensation (SMC) for loss of use of the left hand due to diabetic peripheral neuropathy.,The Board also denied service connection and SMC for loss of use of the right hand due to diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
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