The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding a link between herbicide exposure and the Veteran's spleen disorders, including immune thrombocarpentia (ITP).
The deciding factor: The VA contract examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not address the Veteran's contention that his spleen enlargement was related to service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of spleen disorder, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177238
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 19177238.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) to perform appropriate toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) development and schedule a TERA examination in compliance with the PACT Act.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) based on the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) to obtain additional evidence, including a new examination that complies with the requirements of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act of 2022 (PACT Act).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for a left ankle disability and diabetes mellitus, type II. The claim of service connection for hypertension (claimed as high blood pressure) is remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records.
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