The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding the Veteran's herbicide and asbestos exposure claims. The focus is on verifying if the Veteran was within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam during his service, and determining whether his ischemic heart disease was caused by or related to asbestos exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that it cannot determine the Veteran’s location while in the blue waters of Vietnam due to lack of information from the U.S. Navy and JSRRC, which could affect the herbicide exposure determination. The VA examiner is asked to provide an addendum opinion on whether the Veteran's ischemic heart disease was caused by or related to asbestos exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease, Congestive heart failure, Ischemic cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20001715
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 diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of ischemic heart disease and diabetes, and these claims are dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a cardiovascular disability, secondary to hypertension, but denied a compensable rating and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
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