The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lower back disability, finding that there is no evidence of chronicity or continuity of symptoms since service. The Veteran was also remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding his right foot condition and Agent Orange exposure claims.,The VA has not yet obtained the Veteran’s complete service personnel records to determine if he had in-country service in Vietnam or was otherwise exposed to herbicide agents during service.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of chronicity or continuity of symptoms for the lower back disability, and the Veteran's right foot condition may be related to VA care.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease, Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Diabetes mellitus, type II
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19141737
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (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 19141737.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
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