The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of his upper and lower extremities, as secondary to herbicide exposure. The case is returned to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for further development.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an adequate rationale for why there is no direct connection between the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy and exposure to herbicides, and thus remand was necessary to obtain a new opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20069194
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's left shoulder disability and service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, both secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of both lower extremities to obtain a VA medical opinion regarding whether the current condition is caused or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for peripheral neuropathy of both lower extremities, finding that his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
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