The Veteran's claims for service connection for a chronic kidney condition and digestive condition, to include polyps, are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ will verify the Veteran’s exposure to herbicide agents in Korea and schedule him for VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there were pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors regarding verification of herbicide agent exposure and scheduling of a VA examination, which are necessary to adjudicate the Veteran's claims.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic kidney condition, digestive condition, to include polyps
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- A20017719
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (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 A20017719.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for warts on bilateral feet, a chronic kidney condition, and a heart condition. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication for service connection claims of bilateral pes planus and testalgia, but denied the claims for gout, hypertension, and a chronic kidney condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for all issues related to hypertension, cervical spine disability, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, and chronic kidney condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder and chronic kidney condition are granted service connection. The case is remanded for a medical opinion regarding the cause of the chronic kidney condition.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.