The Veteran's claim to reopen service connection for a skin disability of the left palm is granted. The claim for a 20 percent rating for hemorrhoids is granted, but his claim for service connection for a skin disability of the palms is remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an opinion against service connection based on the Veteran's reported history that the condition started after separation from active service. A new VA medical opinion is required to consider the accurate history of the claimed disability, including the Veteran’s in-service treatment and presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- psoriasiform spongiotic dermatitis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19182194
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 19182194.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's skin conditions, including psoriasiform spongiotic dermatitis, seborrheic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma, are granted as due to exposure to herbicide agents. The claims for an autoimmune disease (AID) and a liver disorder remain pending.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and a rating in excess of 20 percent for hemorrhoids have been dismissed.,His skin disability claim has been denied as it does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The appeal is granted as his PTSD is now considered service-connected.
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