The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected cholecystectomy aggravated his diverticulosis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a rationale for why the service-connected condition (cholecystectomy) did not aggravate the Veteran's pre-existing condition (diverticulosis).
- Claimed conditions
- diverticular disease, diverticulitis, diverticulosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20061074
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 20061074.
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 Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a colon condition, including as caused by herbicide agent exposure or secondary to his service-connected disabilities, was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection on any basis.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for adenocarcinoma colon (colon cancer) due to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune, but denied service connection for diverticular disease, which the Veteran contends is related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a compensable rating for chronic diarrhea, service connection for diverticulitis, and service connection for a respiratory system disability to include restrictive lung disease and sleep apnea syndrome have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error, and will need to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's diverticulosis and colon tumor.
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