The Board has remanded the claim due to inadequate examination and treatment records, requiring a new VA examination for an opinion on whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to service-connected hemorrhoids with history of anal fissure.
The deciding factor: The previous examination report was deemed inadequate by the Court, necessitating a new one to determine if the Veteran's symptoms are at least as likely as not (50/50 probability or better) related to his service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- fistula in ano, impairment of sphincter control associated with internal and external hemorrhoids with history of anal fissure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19187538
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (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 19187538.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's left wrist degenerative arthritis, migraines, bilateral hearing loss, eye disability, and sciatica of the right lower extremity. However, it granted a 40 percent rating for back disability, service connection for erectile dysfunction secondary to the back disability, and special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development and a need for further examination and medical opinion regarding the Veteran's fistula in ano and/or impairment of sphincter control associated with internal and external hemorrhoids.
- Denied
The VA Board found that the Veteran does not have a fistula in ano or impairment of sphincter control associated with his hemorrhoids, and thus denied his claim for a separate rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and development of medical records.
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