The Veteran's claim for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, which he contends is due to herbicide exposure in service, has been remanded due to deficiencies in the record and need for additional development regarding his Naval Reserve duty.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were insufficient records from the Veteran’s Naval Reserve duty service to determine if his symptoms began within one year of separation from active duty. The examiner was asked to consider whether current bilateral peripheral neuropathy could be caused by or aggravated by any aspect of service, including Reserve duty.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186823
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 claim for service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities to obtain further medical evidence regarding its etiology, including whether it is related to military service or secondary to other service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed exposure to chemical substances in service and for additional development of his VA treatment records.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II and bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower and upper extremities are granted as service connected due to herbicide exposure in Thailand.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, finding that it did not manifest within one year after service discharge and is not otherwise related to his period of active duty.
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