The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to potential exposure to Agent Orange while serving in the territorial sea of Vietnam. The Veteran must be provided with a VA examination and further development is needed to determine if he served within the Republic of Vietnam, including on ships such as USS Juneau.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's service in the Republic of Vietnam, particularly his service aboard ships like USS Juneau. The Veteran must be provided with a VA examination and further development is needed to determine if he served within the territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles from the shores of the Republic of Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Gastrointestinal disorder, to include postoperative residuals of an ileostomy, with a small bowel resection, and a colectomy for obstructing sigmoid diverticular disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19136041
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19136041.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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