The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's allergic contact dermatitis, specifically whether it was caused by exposure to Agent Orange. The AOJ is instructed to obtain a reliable report on the chemical composition of Agent Orange and refer the file for another VA examiner’s opinion.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the August 2019 VA medical opinion was inadequate due to reliance on Wikipedia, which is not considered a legitimate source in a professional setting.
- Claimed conditions
- allergic contact dermatitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20007289
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,612 · Granted: 16% (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 20007289.
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.
- Partly granted
Service connection for PTSD is granted. The claim for a rating of allergic contact dermatitis is remanded for further evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for further development, including a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected skin condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for further development due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's allergic contact dermatitis and its relationship to service, including herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable initial evaluation for his service-connected PFB and for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, variously claimed as PTSD, depression and anxiety. The claims are being returned to the RO for further development.
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