The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back and hip disabilities due to conflicting medical opinions. The Veteran is presumed exposed to herbicide agents during his Vietnam service, but the nexus between current disabilities and service remains unclear.
The deciding factor: There are conflicting medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's low back and hip disabilities, which requires additional examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- hypothyroidism, low back disability, right hip disability, left hip disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2021
- Citation
- 21067844
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 21067844.
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 initial compensable evaluation for hypothyroidism is denied, and the Board finds that service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease and bilateral foot condition should be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran will need an adequate VA medical opinion to determine if his hip disabilities are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hypothyroidism and therefore denied their claim for service connection.
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