The Board has remanded two issues related to service connection for neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities due to a duty to assist error. The examiner is required to determine if these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service, including exposure to herbicides while in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The decision was made based on a duty to assist error where an examination did not include a medical opinion regarding whether the upper extremity neuropathy is related to service or other service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- neuropathy of the right upper extremity, neuropathy of the left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2019
- Citation
- A19002863
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19002863.
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 granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral lower and upper extremity neuropathies, finding that they are related to his in-service herbicide exposure (Agent Orange).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to errors in obtaining private treatment records and issues related to TDIU determination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that VA examinations are required to determine if the Veteran's disabilities, including diabetes and neuropathy of various extremities, are at least as likely as not related to hazardous exposures during service. The issues of service connection for glaucoma secondary to diabetes are also remanded due to their inextricability with other claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for neuropathy of all four extremities due to a need for additional development, including verification of claimed nerve agent exposure and obtaining an updated medical opinion.
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