The Board has ordered the AOJ to verify the Veteran's exposure to pesticides, especially DDT, while serving in the Panama Canal Zone. The AOJ is also asked to determine if the Veteran’s thyroid disease is related to this exposure.
The deciding factor: The decision was remanded due to insufficient verification of the Veteran's claimed exposure to pesticides and a need for an addendum opinion regarding the relationship between his thyroid disease and such exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- hypothyroidism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194100
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 19194100.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a deviated septum and denied compensable ratings for allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, hypothyroidism, and hypertension.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism, as it is presumptively linked to herbicide agent exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hypothyroidism and remanded the claim for service connection for lipomas (claimed as cysts surgery).
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism secondary to in-service toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) based on the Veteran's conceded in-service jet fuel fumes exposure.
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