The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral foot, left ankle, and right ankle conditions have been reopened. The issues are being remanded due to the need for additional evidence.,Service connection for encephalopathy and upper extremity neuropathy has not been established.
The deciding factor: New evidence received since previous decisions does not establish a link between service and these conditions, as required by law.
- Claimed conditions
- Encephalopathy, Upper Extremity Neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19135223
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,421 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19135223.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 USC 1318 due to a need for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's causes of death, considering toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, requiring an additional VA medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was attributed to diabetes mellitus type II, which resulted in hypoglycemia. The Board found that there is no evidence to support the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during service or at any other time, and thus denied service connection for the cause of death on this basis. Additionally, DIC benefits were not granted as the Veteran was not rated as totally disabled due to a service-connected disability prior to his death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by encephalopathy, which is linked to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. The appeal for DIC based on service connection for the cause of death is granted. The appeal for accrued benefits is dismissed as all claims have been addressed.
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