The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The AOJ is instructed to attempt to obtain additional evidence, including from the Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC), to determine if the Veteran’s unit participated in missions to Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the October 2018 decision did not adequately address the credibility of the Veteran's statements regarding his exposure to herbicide agents and failed to discuss what other information could have been provided or why successive two-month searches were not performed.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, right upper extremity neuropathy, left upper extremity neuropathy, right lower extremity neuropathy, left lower extremity neuropathy, prostate cancer, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, sarcoidosis, asthma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19176880
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 claim for service connection for sarcoidosis as new and relevant evidence has been received since the previous denial.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent disability rating for unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder with major depressive disorder, recurrent, and alcohol use disorder in early remission, as well as TDIU due to asthma and SMC at the housebound rate.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
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