The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and opinions to determine the etiology of his drop foot, bilateral shoulder, knee, and hip disabilities. The Board also notes that the Veteran has claimed exposure to Agent Orange but does not specify which conditions are related.
The deciding factor: The claims for service connection require further examination and opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's drop foot, bilateral shoulder, knee, and hip disabilities due to their unclear relationship with his active duty service or any potential Agent Orange exposure. The Board cannot make a determination without additional evidence and analysis.
- Claimed conditions
- Persistent Depressive Disorder, Drop Foot, Bilateral Shoulder Disability, Bilateral Knee Disability, Bilateral Hip Disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178545
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 various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hip, knee, and ankle disabilities due to a lack of evidence supporting an in-service injury or continuity of symptomatology. The claim for a psychiatric disorder was also denied as the Veteran's statements were found not credible.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and multiple musculoskeletal conditions but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Dismissed
The appeal for an initial compensable rating for GERD was withdrawn, and the claims for service connection for a low back disability, bilateral ankle disability, bilateral knee disability, and right knee disability were denied.
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