The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral upper and lower peripheral neuropathy due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange. A VA examination is required to determine if the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy is more consistent with early-onset or delayed-onset, and whether it is related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a VA examination is needed to clarify the type of peripheral neuropathy (early-onset vs. delayed-onset) and its relation to presumed Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- right upper extremity (RUE) peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity (LUE) peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity (RLE) peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity (LLE) peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19192861
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 19192861.
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 granted service connection for right and left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, but denied a higher rating for type II diabetes mellitus. The claims for increased ratings of upper extremity peripheral neuropathy and psychiatric disability were remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 2, 2015 for the grant of service connection for lumbar sprain and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to good cause shown for the Veteran's failure to file a Notice of Disagreement within one year of the initial denial.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining medical opinions to address the nature and etiology of the claimed conditions and their relationship to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar, status post partial laminectomy and discectomy, an initial higher rating in excess of 20 percent for left lower extremity (LLE) peripheral neuropathy, an initial higher rating in excess of 20 percent for right lower extremity (RLE) peripheral neuropathy, and an initial compensable rating for lumbar scar due to deficiencies in the VA examinations.
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