The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding herbicide agent exposure and a medical opinion on whether PTSD caused or aggravated the gastrointestinal disorder.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as there are insufficient records to determine if the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents, which could impact his service connection claims. Additionally, a medical opinion is needed to assess whether PTSD caused or aggravated the gastrointestinal disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal disorder (including GERD), diabetes mellitus type II, sixth cranial nerve palsy, diabetic retinopathy, erectile dysfunction (ED), decreased kidney functioning, anemia, diabetic peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2018
- Citation
- 18143980
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 18143980.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a vitamin D deficiency and remanded claims for coronary artery disease, status post femoral bypass, chronic kidney disease, and anemia due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral pes planus, anemia, and gastritis as the conditions were not shown to be related to or aggravated by service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for vitamin deficiency and remanded the claims for tinnitus and erectile dysfunction due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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