The Board has found the VA examinations and opinions to be inadequate due to their failure to address the Veteran's self-reported history of symptoms. The claims are being remanded for a new examination by an examiner who must consider the Veteran’s self-reported history and provide a rationale based on this information.
The deciding factor: The prior examinations failed to adequately address the Veteran's self-reported history of symptoms, which is important in determining whether his peripheral neuropathy is related to service or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, Peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066783
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 20066783.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's current peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities was incurred during his period of active service, including exposure to herbicides in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The appeal regarding the July 2, 2020 rating decision for PTSD was denied. The claims of service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities were also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and the need for additional medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities due to a need for further clarity on the nature and etiology of the Veteran's conditions.
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