The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma due to her claimed in-service exposure to PCBs from a nearby Monsanto Chemical plant. The Veteran was stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama during basic training and visited a neighboring town where she may have been exposed to airborne PCBs.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted by the Veteran is enough to trigger the duty to assist and obtain a medical opinion regarding her claimed in-service exposure to PCBs.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19150023
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 remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical spine condition, diabetes mellitus, heart condition, lumbar spine condition, and urinary frequency and voiding condition as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis or in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded the claims for sinus disability, bilateral hip disability, right shoulder disability, hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, skin disability, back disability, bilateral neurological disability of the upper extremities, and bilateral neurological disability of the lower extremities.
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