The Board has determined that the VA examination is inadequate for decision-making purposes and requires further development to determine if the Veteran's polio was aggravated by service, specifically due to the 'rigors of military training'. The claims are being remanded for additional development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a clear opinion regarding whether the Veteran's polio was aggravated by service or if his neurological disabilities were incurred in service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of polio, neurologic disability of the bilateral lower extremities (secondary to residuals of polio), neurologic disability of the bilateral upper extremities (secondary to residuals of polio)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19163302
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · 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 19163302.
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 service connection for residuals of polio, a neurologic disability of the bilateral lower extremities, and a neurologic disability of the bilateral upper extremities as these conditions clearly existed prior to service and were not aggravated by any in-service event or injury.
- Granted
The Board finds that the Veteran's current residuals of polio and post-polio syndrome are related to an illness during his active duty service, and grants service connection for these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete medical records and the need for a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
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