The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for compensable initial ratings for his right inguinal hernia and surgical repair scar, but has remanded the issue of service connection for benign prostatic hypertrophy due to in-service exposure to herbicides. The case is now pending further development.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under applicable VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- benign prostatic hypertrophy, right inguinal hernia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2020
- Citation
- A20017842
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,185 · Granted: 28% (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 A20017842.
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 Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including adjustment disorder, benign skin lesions, actinic keratosis, poikiloderma, porokeratosis, Parkinson's disease, benign prostatic hypertrophy, hypertension, increased urinary frequency, diverticulosis, duodenal ulcer, and bilateral cataracts are all granted due to exposure to herbicide agents, mustard gas, and ionizing radiation during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to conflicting evidence regarding the nature of the Veteran's prostate condition and a need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection for gastrointestinal disability, right inguinal hernia, hiatal hernia, and bilateral hearing loss. The claims are being remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted SMC at the enhanced R-1 rate due to his need for regular assistance with activities of daily living and a total disability rating, including service-connected conditions such as Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and PTSD.
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