The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for various disabilities, including diabetes mellitus, heart disability, peripheral neuropathy, erectile dysfunction, liver disease, low back disability, and sleep apnea, all claimed as secondary to service-connected encephalitis. The remand requires additional medical opinions addressing whether these conditions were aggravated by or caused by the service-connected encephalitis.
The deciding factor: The original June 2019 VA medical opinions did not clearly address whether the Veteran's disabilities were aggravated by his service-connected encephalitis, which is a requirement for secondary service connection. The Board finds that these opinions are inadequate and requires additional addendum opinions to determine if the disabilities were aggravated or caused by the encephalitis.
- Claimed conditions
- Type II diabetes mellitus, Heart disability, Bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, Bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Erectile dysfunction, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Low back disability, Obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20064424
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · 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 20064424.
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 claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability alone does not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for residuals of prostate cancer due to VA's failure to notify him of his April 17, 2008, elevated PSA test results and its failure to timely diagnose and properly treat his disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for additional examinations.
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