The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the timing and nature of his exposure to herbicides, as well as incomplete treatment records. The AOJ is instructed to verify proximity to Vietnam and obtain pertinent VA treatment records.
The deciding factor: Insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's proximity to Vietnam and incomplete treatment records prevent a determination on service connection for many of his claims.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, chronic kidney disease, bladder disorder, erectile dysfunction, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, gout, hepatitis C, ischemic heart disease (claimed as heart pacemaker), skin disorder, back pain, bilateral pes planus with hallux rigidus, acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD), bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, eye disorder, sinus disorder, stomach problems, headaches
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002484
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20002484.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
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