The Veteran's claims for secondary service connection for kidney disease and peripheral neuropathy in the upper and lower extremities are being remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
The deciding factor: There was an omission of consideration regarding secondary aggravation during the VA examination, which is necessary for secondary service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney disease, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- A19003793
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 A19003793.
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 service connection for cause of death to obtain a new medical opinion due to errors in previous examinations.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for kidney disease, mass on kidney, and thyroidectomy was withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney representative.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that the conditions are related to Agent Orange exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.