The Veteran's heart disorder is denied as there is no evidence of a pre-existing condition prior to his death.,The Veteran's left knee disorder is remanded for additional development due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination.,The Veteran's hypertension is remanded because the medical opinion did not adequately address whether it was caused by or aggravated by service-connected diabetes mellitus and/or herbicide exposure.,The Veteran's kidney disorder is remanded as there is no evidence of a pre-existing condition prior to his death.,The Veteran's thyroid disorder is remanded due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA opinion regarding its relationship with service-connected diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: There was no diagnosis of heart disorder prior to the Veteran’s death, and the medical evidence does not support a finding that it began during service or was related to an injury, event, or disease.,The VA examiner did not provide adequate rationale for why the popping and locking of the knees in service could not be etiologically related to later diagnosed degenerative joint disease.,The hypertension opinion did not adequately address whether it was caused by or aggravated by service-connected diabetes mellitus and/or herbicide exposure, nor did it explain if the Veteran's service-connected diabetes may have aggravated a thyroid disorder.,There is no evidence of a pre-existing kidney condition prior to the Veteran’s death. The medical opinion found that the Veteran had normal renal function at his last examination.,The VA opinion did not provide adequate rationale for why there was no causal relationship between service-connected diabetes and goiters, nor did it explain if the Veteran's service-connected diabetes may have aggravated a thyroid disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disorder, Left knee disorder, Hypertension, Kidney disorder, Thyroid disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20070820
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 20070820.
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 claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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