The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed exposure to herbicides during service, and a VA examination is needed to determine if his diabetes mellitus type 2 is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The claim for service connection is being remanded because there is insufficient evidence to corroborate the Veteran’s reported exposure to Agent Orange during service.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus type 2
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004218
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 20004218.
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 Veteran's appeal for service connection for heart attack, kidney stones, polycythemia vera, diabetes mellitus type 2, and psoriasis is remanded due to inadequate VA opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU was granted effective October 24, 2017. The attorney fees are eligible based on the past-due benefits awarded in the May 2021 rating decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type 2 is found to be secondary to her service-connected PTSD with major depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions are inadequate, and thus remands are required to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea and diabetes mellitus type 2 are caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.
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