The Veteran's allergic rhinitis is service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran had a current diagnosis of allergic rhinitis and provided competent and credible testimony regarding his symptoms during service.,Service connection for right fifth finger injury was denied due to lack of continuity of care, despite the Veteran's lay statements. A VA examination will be required to address this issue.,The Board found that there is no current evidence of a right knee disorder or low back disorder related to service. An adequate VA examination is needed to clarify these issues.,Service connection for skin disorder was denied due to lack of continuity of care, despite the Veteran's lay statements and testimony regarding his symptoms during service. An adequate VA examination is required to address this issue.,The claim for respiratory disorder was reopened based on new evidence (diagnosis of bronchitis). The Board found that there is a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim with further examination and medical opinion.,
The deciding factor: Service connection can be established if there is a current disability, in-service disease or injury, and a link between the two. The Veteran's allergic rhinitis was diagnosed during service and has persisted since then.,The denial of right fifth finger injury was based on lack of continuity of care despite the Veteran's testimony. A VA examination will be required to determine if there is any current disability related to service.,Right knee disorder and low back disorder were denied due to lack of continuity of care, despite the Veteran's testimony. An adequate VA examination is needed to address these issues.,Skin disorder was denied based on lack of continuity of care, despite the Veteran's testimony. An adequate VA examination will be required to determine if there is any current disability related to service.,The claim for respiratory disorder was reopened due to new evidence (diagnosis of bronchitis). The Board found that there is a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim with further examination and medical opinion.,
- Claimed conditions
- allergic rhinitis, respiratory disorder (presumed), right fifth finger injury, right knee disorder, low back disorder, skin disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19139722
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · Granted: 20% (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 19139722.
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 claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and authorization for private treatment providers. The issues include heart disorder, OSA, sinusitis, lumbar spine disorder, and right knee disorder all related to Agent Orange exposure.
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