The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and an opinion from a clinician regarding whether the proximate cause of rectal bleeding and right hemicolectomy was carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA. The clinician is also asked to determine if there are any other additional disabilities caused by the January 2011 VA colonoscopy.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an opinion was still necessary regarding whether the proximate cause of the rectal bleeding and right hemicolectomy were due to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
- Claimed conditions
- rectal bleeding, right hemicolectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080495
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,680 · Granted: 24% (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 20080495.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection of hemorrhoids with rectal bleeding is remanded due to the VA's failure to obtain a medical opinion on direct service connection and as related to toxic exposure risk activities (TERA).
- Granted
The Veteran's gastrointestinal disorder, including GERD and rectal bleeding, is found to be caused by his service-connected major depressive disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for rectal bleeding due to conflicting opinions and a need for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a bilateral eye disability (pinguecula and dry eye syndrome) on a direct basis, but dismissed claims for earlier effective dates and service connections for PTSD, rectal bleeding, left leg condition, and other neuropathies. The Board also denied an earlier effective date for the 50 percent rating for migraine headaches.
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