The Board has determined that a VA medical examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of any current vocal cord disability, including whether it is related to service. The Veteran's claim for service connection will be remanded.
The deciding factor: The McClendon criteria are met as there is competent evidence of a current disability (vocal cord damage), evidence establishing that an event occurred in service (shouting commands during training), and an indication that the disability may be associated with service. However, insufficient competent medical evidence on file for the Secretary to make a decision.
- Claimed conditions
- vocal cord damage
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 29, 2018
- Citation
- 1818712
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 1818712.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a throat condition to schedule an appropriate VA compensation examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed throat condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and denied entitlement to higher initial ratings for existing disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypothyroidism, vocal cord damage, dry mouth disability, and dysphagia as the evidence did not show exposure to herbicide agents or other presumptive conditions during active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new evidence received, and requests an addendum opinion regarding his esophageal cancer.
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