The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, joint disorder, cataracts, coronary artery disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, esophageal varices, and skin disorder is remanded due to potential exposure to Agent Orange during his military service.,Specifically, the Board requests further investigation into the Veteran's claimed exposure to Agent Orange at Clark Air Base in the Philippines from May to December 1965.
The deciding factor: The claims for service connection are remanded as there is a possibility of Agent Orange exposure and its potential impact on the Veteran’s conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, lumbar spine disorder, joint disorder, cataracts, coronary artery disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, esophageal varices, skin disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19137539
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 19137539.
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 claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back disorder, skin disorder, tongue condition, right chest costochondritis, and right hand shaking due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
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