The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development regarding the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange in Okinawa, Japan. The RO is required to undertake additional searches with JSRRC and the U.S. Army for information corroborating the Veteran’s claimed exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to fulfill its duty to assist by not undertaking an exhaustive search of unit records and JSRRC as recommended in the June 2017 Board remand.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart condition, Atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19110088
Veterans Law Judge
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 19110088.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a heart condition is dismissed as the Board has already granted it. The appeal for increased rating of PTSD is also dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, basal cell carcinoma, bilateral pseudophakia, dry eye syndrome and blepharitis (bilateral eye conditions), diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and heart condition due to inadequate opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran's exposure to asbestos is conceded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, basal cell carcinoma, bilateral pseudophakia, dry eye syndrome and blepharitis (bilateral eye conditions), diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and heart condition due to inadequate opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran's exposure to asbestos is conceded.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of a heart condition as secondary to his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder with anxiety, alcohol use disorder, and stimulant use disorder. The decision is based on evidence showing that the Veteran's heart condition is related to his long-term alcohol use disorder.
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