The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, and the Board has determined that new VA examinations are needed to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.
The deciding factor: New evidence submitted since the last denial raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, bilateral knee disability, neck disability, dry eye syndrome, and right eye pain, psychiatric disability, to include anxiety, epidermolysis bullosa simplex, erectile dysfunction, hemorrhoids, joint pain, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, muscle pain, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, sleep disorder, to include obstructive sleep apnea, and to include as due to undiagnosed illness, acid reflux, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, irritable bowel syndrome, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, respiratory disability, to include asthma and bronchitis, and to include as due to undiagnosed illness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19195340
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 19195340.
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 various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding its etiology.
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