The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney disorder and heart condition due to herbicide exposure, as they are presumed conditions under the Agent Orange Act. The case will be further examined by medical experts.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam, he does not have a qualifying condition for presumptive service connection and thus must provide direct evidence of causation.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney disorder (renal cysts), heart condition (coronary artery disease)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20021171
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 20021171.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and service connection due to a need for further development of evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim for service connection of a heart condition due to conflicting opinions and lack of substantial compliance with previous remands.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, heart condition (coronary artery disease), and diabetic neuropathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors, including a lack of records search for Agent Orange exposure in Korea and SSA disability benefits records.
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