The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to mercury from dental fillings and its relationship to his current symptoms. The Veteran will need to provide additional medical records, including CT scans, and a VA examination will be conducted to determine if there are any residuals of mercury poisoning related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that more evidence is needed regarding the nature and extent of the Veteran's exposure to mercury from dental fillings during service and its current effects on his health.
- Claimed conditions
- speech abnormalities, concentration difficulties, impaired thought process, chest and heart palpitations, panic attacks, headaches, joint pain, blurred vision, interstitial soft tissue necrosis, necrotic odor from face and nostrils, chronic dehydration, skin discoloration, difficulty swallowing, gastrointestinal problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, neurologic sensitivity, psychiatric impairment, sleep disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18157887
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 18157887.
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 has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability, endometriosis, thyroid condition, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial. The claims are now considered on their merits.
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