The Veteran's claim for diabetes mellitus, type II is denied as there is no current diagnosis of the condition.,The Veteran's claim for headaches is denied due to lack of in-service incurrence or relationship to service.,The Veteran's claims for skin disabilities are remanded as the VA examiner did not address the in-service treatment records showing skin conditions during service.,The Veteran's heart disability claim is remanded as the VA examiner did not provide an opinion on direct causation due to herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: There is no current diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, type II. The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis and there is no evidence showing it began during service.,The Veteran's headaches are not related to in-service injury or illness as the only post-service medical evidence dates back 50 years after discharge.,The VA examiner did not address the in-service treatment records for skin conditions, which may be relevant to establishing a current diagnosis and relationship to service.,The VA examiner did not provide an opinion on direct causation of heart disabilities due to herbicide exposure as these are not among the presumptive diseases.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II, headaches, stasis dermatitis, supraventricular arrythmia, mild hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21029016
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 21029016.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the Board found that his current headaches are related to service. Service connection is granted.
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