The Veteran's claim for an increased initial disability rating for service-connected Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) prior to April 29, 2014 is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records relevant to his dialysis treatments.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to obtain private treatment records regarding the Veteran's dialysis treatments prior to 2014 as these records are potentially pertinent to substantiating his claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 21, 2021
- Citation
- 21023748
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 21023748.
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 Veteran's CKD did not result in a GFR score of 59 mL/min/1.73 m2 or lower for at least three consecutive months during any 12-month period, nor did it require regular routine dialysis or make him eligible for a kidney transplant. Therefore, the claim for an initial compensable rating for CKD is denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted an initial 80 percent evaluation for the Veteran's Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), stage IV, effective November 18, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hypertension requires continuous medication for control but has not manifested by diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more or systolic pressure predominantly 160 or more, nor does he have a history of diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more. As such, the initial compensable rating for hypertension is denied.,The Veteran's CKD has an unclear etiology though suspect HTN and was diagnosed prior to the decision on appeal. The Court noted that secondary service connection should be developed and adjudicated.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development, including obtaining SSA records beyond medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess syncope associated with DM and hypertension.
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