The Board has remanded the case for an additional medical opinion regarding the Veteran's sickle cell disease, as there is conflicting evidence on whether it was aggravated by service or if any increase in severity during service represents a chronic worsening of the underlying pathology.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address all relevant records and literature submitted by the Veteran, which could affect their opinion on whether the disorder was aggravated by service or if any increase in severity represented a chronic worsening.
- Claimed conditions
- hemoglobin sickle cell disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20062588
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 20062588.
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 denied the Veteran's motion alleging clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the December 1987 rating decision that denied service connection for hemoglobin sickle cell disease, finding no CUE.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting diagnoses and a need for further examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted a total schedular rating of 100 percent for the service-connected hemoglobin sickle cell disease, effective from March 2001.
- Denied
The veteran seeks an earlier effective date for a 100 percent rating for his service-connected hemoglobin sickle cell disease back to the date of his discharge from service. The Board finds that a preponderance of the evidence is against this claim and denies it.
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