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
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 claims for service connection for chronic diarrhea, headaches, and neck pain for initial adjudication on the merits by the AOJ.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic diarrhea, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, an abnormal gait, right ankle synovitis, right ankle scars, Morton's neuroma, right hammer toe, and a low back disability.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for chronic diarrhea and GERD, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these matters.
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