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 an examination 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 a VA examination, which are necessary steps before service connection can be determined.
- 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
- A20017720
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 denied service connection for digestive condition and sinusitis, but granted service connection for vitiligo of the penis and lipomas. The initial ratings for various disabilities were also denied.
- 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 Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for sleep apnea, GERD, and a digestive condition due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for various conditions and denied service connection for a musculoskeletal disability, while remanding two skin and dizziness claims.
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