The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a VA medical opinion regarding whether her bilateral lower extremity varicose veins were incurred in or due to active service, including all periods of active service between 1985 and the present. The opinion should address the effects of standing as a cause of varicose veins.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the January 2020 VA examination report was inadequate and did not provide a complete response to the remand directives, including discussion on the effects of standing as a cause of varicose veins.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral lower extremity varicose veins
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069454
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for entitlement to service connection for bilateral lower extremity varicose veins was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election under the Appeals Modernization Act.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral lower extremity varicose veins, finding no evidence of in-service incurrence or a nexus to service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable initial rating for hypertension and remanded the claims for service connection for cervical spine disorder, right carpal tunnel disorder, left carpal tunnel disorder, bilateral upper extremity varicose veins, and bilateral lower extremity varicose veins.
- Partly granted
The veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as of January 4, 2021. However, the effective date prior to September 27, 2021 for service connection for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral lower extremity varicose veins was denied. The claim for a higher rating for diabetes mellitus type II with complications and TDIU prior to January 4, 2021 were remanded.
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