The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his coronary artery disease associated with herbicide exposure is being remanded due to the need for a more contemporaneous medical examination.
The deciding factor: The VA has not provided a recent and updated medical evaluation of the Veteran's condition, which is necessary to determine the current severity of his disability.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease status post coronary artery bypass grafting
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18143218
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 18143218.
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 Veteran's appeal for an increased disability rating in excess of 100 percent for service-connected schizophrenia has been denied. The appeal for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities has also been denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have caused him to lose the use of both feet, qualifying him for financial assistance in purchasing an automobile and adaptive equipment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's heart condition, including coronary artery disease, angina, and hypertension, is being remanded for a new VA medical opinion due to the inadequacy of the previous opinion. The claim will also be reviewed for verification of DDT exposure during service in Thailand.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused or contributed to by any service-connected disability, including discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). The VA examiner found that DLE did not contribute to the Veteran's death.
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