The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to verify his exposure to herbicide agents in Panama, which may affect the service connection for some of his claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board needs to verify the Veteran’s claimed exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Panama to determine if it affects the service connection for his conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder, respiratory disorder, pulmonary embolism, sleep apnea, skin disorder, ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, type II (DM), erectile dysfunction (ED), peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064863
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (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 20064863.
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 claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
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