The Veteran's skin condition, including chloracne, is being remanded for a new VA medical opinion to address whether it is at least as likely as not related to service or herbicide exposure. The Veteran also has hypertension that may be related to his diabetes mellitus type II and/or psychiatric condition.,The Veteran's hypertension is being remanded for an addendum medical opinion to determine if it is at least as likely as not caused by his pre-diabetes, diabetes mellitus type II, or service-connected psychiatric disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinions are inadequate and lack substantial rationale. The Veteran's skin condition may be related to herbicide exposure but the medical records do not support this conclusion.,The VA examiner did not address whether pre-diabetes caused hypertension, nor did he consider the Veteran's testimony that his mental health condition could cause his hypertension.
- Claimed conditions
- Chloracne, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20077761
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 20077761.
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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