The Board has granted service connection for type II diabetes mellitus. The claims for right eye cataract and left eye cataract are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the Veteran's exposure to herbicides during his service at Udorn RTAFB in Thailand, which has been established as a burn pit area. The claims for right eye cataract and left eye cataract are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus, right eye cataract, left eye cataract
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20000797
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 remands the Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for type II diabetes mellitus to address a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding VA not requesting private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for type II diabetes mellitus due to a need for an additional medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an effective date of October 24, 2022, for obstructive sleep apnea. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, finding no evidence of the condition during service or within a year of discharge and no link to in-service exposure.
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