The Veteran's claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus and right above the knee amputation, as well as his claim for TDIU, are being remanded due to uncertainty regarding herbicide exposure during service. The Board requests additional records from the USS John Paul Jones, DDG-32, including deck logs.
The deciding factor: The Board finds it unclear whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while serving on the USS John Paul Jones, DDG-32, and thus cannot determine if he is entitled to presumptive service connection for his conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- type II diabetes mellitus, right above the knee amputation
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20006845
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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