The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disorder, hepatitis C, and GERD due to potential exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The VA is instructed to obtain updated VA treatment records, request SSA disability benefits records, and schedule the Veteran for a VA examination in each of these cases.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was insufficient evidence to establish service connection based on direct causation but acknowledged the possibility of presumptive service connection due to exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine disorder, Hepatitis C, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19126767
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (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 19126767.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and psychiatric disorder due to incomplete information. The Veteran needs to provide his complete service personnel records, verify his alleged combat experience in Vietnam, and undergo VA examinations for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for Dupuytren's contracture of the left hand, right hand, and GERD is remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions and failure to consider toxic exposure risk activities during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's GERD is currently rated at 10 percent disabling, but the Board found that his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating.
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