The Board has granted service connection for a low back disability. The Veteran's low back disability is found to have had its onset during his active duty service and has continued since that time.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, abdominal hernia, bilateral cataract status post intraocular lens replacement in left eye, and pancreatitis are remanded due to unclear evidence regarding the Veteran's service in Vietnam and potential exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is at least as likely as not (50% probability or greater) that the Veteran’s low back disability had its onset during his active duty service.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, abdominal hernia, bilateral cataract status post intraocular lens replacement in left eye, and pancreatitis are remanded due to unclear evidence regarding the Veteran's service in Vietnam and potential exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability, Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Ischemic heart disease, Abdominal hernia, Bilateral cataract status post intraocular lens replacement in left eye, Pancreatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19134827
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19134827.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating of 30 percent prior to July 18, 2014, and a higher than 60 percent rating thereafter for ischemic heart disease is being remanded due to incomplete evidence. The examiner needs to provide more detailed information about the severity of his service-connected condition.
- 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.
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