The Veteran's claim for hypertension has been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. Service connection is denied.,Service connection for COPD is denied as there is no evidence linking it to service, including exposure to Agent Orange.,An acquired psychiatric disorder (likely to include PTSD and Depression) is not service-connected as there is insufficient evidence connecting current symptoms to military service.,Thrombosis, poor circulation, and edema are remanded for further evaluation.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence has been submitted but does not provide a link between the Veteran's current hypertension and his military service.,The COPD is not linked to service exposure or any other known risk factors.,There is insufficient evidence linking the Veteran’s current psychiatric symptoms to his military service, despite acknowledging potential secondary effects of his service-connected conditions.,Further evaluation is needed to determine if thrombosis, poor circulation, and edema are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (likely to include PTSD and Depression)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120910
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 19120910.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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