The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and neuropathy of the lower extremities to allow for additional development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s current diagnoses were due to in-service exposure to toxic metabolic contaminants, but did not specify which specific contaminants or events caused the conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, neuropathy of the lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19188119
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 19188119.
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 grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's ischemic heart disease, as the previous opinions were found inadequate.
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