The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran must be provided with an appropriate VA medical opinion to clarify the etiology of his claimed conditions, including whether they are related to in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a duty to provide an adequate VA medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy and in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015673
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that the conditions are related to Agent Orange exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The appeal was granted for service connection for latent tuberculosis and dermatitis of the face, while other claims were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis, small bowel obstruction, to include small bowel perforation, status post left hemicolectomy, Hartman's pouch and ileostomy (bowel condition), as well as right and left upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to a finding that an adequate VA medical opinion was not obtained.
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