The Board remanded the claim for service connection for Paget's disease because no medical opinion of record evaluated the relationship between the condition and the Veteran's claimed in-service exposures to herbicide agents, viruses in Germany, or sea urchins. The case requires a VA examination and further investigation into the Veteran's claimed herbicide exposure at Corpus Christi, Texas.
The deciding factor: Although Paget's disease is not a presumptive condition for herbicide exposure, the Veteran's competent evidence of current disability potentially associated with service warrants a remand for a medical examination addressing the nexus between the disease and his claimed in-service exposures under 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(d).
- Claimed conditions
- Paget's disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000364
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.
- Granted
The Board grants service connection for Paget's disease, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a right thumb injury, Paget's disease, hypertension, erectile dysfunction (secondary to hypertension), and kidney disease (secondary to hypertension) as there was no evidence that any of these conditions began during active service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and Paget's disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of Paget's disease to obtain additional records and a dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health.
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