The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to unresolved issues regarding his exposure to environmental toxins and radiation, as well as potential aggravation of pre-existing conditions by PTSD. The Veteran is seeking service connection for residuals of pulmonary embolism, left calf deep vein thrombosis, and TBI with residual headaches.
The deciding factor: The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims due to unresolved issues regarding his exposure to environmental toxins and radiation, as well as potential aggravation of pre-existing conditions by PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of pulmonary embolism, left calf deep vein thrombosis, TBI with residual headaches
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19177669
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 19177669.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all issues related to increased ratings for various conditions as the Veteran's representative withdrew the appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for various secondary conditions are remanded due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions addressing secondary service connection, specifically obesity as an intermediate step. The Veteran's SSA records are also requested.
- Denied
The Veteran's pulmonary embolism and DVT were not caused by VA care, but rather a known risk of the November 2009 cardiac catheterization. The Board finds no fault on the part of VA.
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