The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient information in the previous VA examiner's opinion regarding the Veteran's claim for a kidney disability. The new opinion is needed to address whether the Veteran's lay reports of blood in his urine following an in-service fall support a finding that he incurred a kidney disability as a result.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examiner did not adequately address the Veteran’s assertion of having blood in his urine after his in-service fall, which may or may not support the presence of a kidney disability at that time.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21000874
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 21000874.
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 granted service connection for kidney disability and urinary incontinence with hematuria. The remaining issues of service connection for psychiatric disability, migraine headaches, and macrocytic anemia are remanded for further consideration.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and potential duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran is seeking service connection for migraine headaches, which he contends are secondary to his service-connected tinnitus, diabetes mellitus, and asthma. He also seeks service connection for a kidney disability manifested by kidney stones and a weak right kidney, which he asserts is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding secondary service connection for kidney cancer, specifically whether it is aggravated by service-connected hypertension and diabetes. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered with new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error related to VA's statutory duties under the PACT Act. The Veteran had presumptive exposure to herbicide agents, but there is no medical opinion on whether his kidney disability was related to any toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.