The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding presumptive exposure to herbicide agents during active duty.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's personnel records show he served aboard a ship within the territorial sea of Vietnam, but there is no clear confirmation of his exact location and distance from land.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus II (DMII), ischemic heart disease, bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, macular degeneration
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20007815
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
The Board grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy secondary to the veteran's service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's ischemic heart disease, as the previous opinions were found inadequate.
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