The Board has decided to remand the cases of bilateral hand tremor and chronic respiratory disability due to inadequate medical opinions regarding exposure to toxic chemicals during service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the Veteran's lay statements about chemical/environmental exposure during service, including his reports of tear gas use, decontamination showers setup, filling M-60 tanks with napalm, and exposure to nerve agents at Fort McCellan. The Board also noted that the January 2020 VA examiner did not have access to a February 2020 Chem Bio report which suggested possible mustard agent exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hand tremor, chronic respiratory disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20074800
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 20074800.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinea cruris, bilateral foot tinea pedis, and bilateral hand tremor due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran is requested to undergo VA examinations to determine if his conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are remanded due to the need for additional development. The hearing loss disability is rated at 10% prior to November 5, 2020, and 90% thereafter.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including bilateral hand tremor, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, right and left ankle disorders, right and left restless leg syndromes, and right and left knee retropatellar pain syndrome. The decision is based on the absence of a current diagnosis or evidence linking these conditions to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection for these conditions.
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