The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed conditions, particularly in relation to exposure to Agent Orange during military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an examination is necessary on remand to diagnose any current gait instability condition and provide an opinion regarding the nature and etiology of any such condition, including as whether the condition pre-existed the Veteran’s active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- throat constriction, abnormal gait, Dupuytren's contracture, chronic diarrhea, obstructive voiding, an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180856
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19180856.
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 Veteran's appeals for a compensable rating for chronic diarrhea, service connection for diverticulitis, and service connection for a respiratory system disability to include restrictive lung disease and sleep apnea syndrome have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tension headaches and chronic diarrhea, finding that the Veteran's conditions are at least as likely as not related to his active military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic diarrhea is granted service connection. The Veteran's migraines are remanded for further review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for a chronic gastrointestinal disorder, including chronic diarrhea and IBS, due to an inadequate VA medical opinion. The Veteran's claims are being returned for further development.
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