The Veteran's claim for service connection for sick sinus syndrome with implanted cardiac pacemaker, to include as due to herbicide exposure, is being remanded. The Board notes that the Veteran served in Vietnam and was presumed exposed to Agent Orange during his service. However, the examiner did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran’s condition is related to his service or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a definitive opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's sick sinus syndrome with implanted cardiac pacemaker and his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- sick sinus syndrome, implanted cardiac pacemaker
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193618
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,874 · Granted: 33% (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 19193618.
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 has remanded the case due to errors in providing notice of a hearing and for reopening the claim.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the cause of death and remanded the issue of a compensable disability rating for bilateral defective hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a more thorough examination, including METs testing, and consideration of his testimony at the Board hearing.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Barrett's esophagus, sick sinus syndrome, and prostate cancer due to exposure at Camp Lejeune. The Veteran also receives special monthly compensation based on the loss of use of a creative organ.
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