The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's cardiomyopathy and his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, as well as the potential secondary effect of herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s cardiomyopathy is related to his active service, including his presumed herbicide exposure, and if it is caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2021
- Citation
- 21006249
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 21006249.
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.
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The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cardiomyopathy and hypertension due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the April 2025 rating decision. The issues are being remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician.
- Denied
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