The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for kidney, heart, groin, skin, and hiatal hernia disabilities due to chemical exposure. The Veteran's service at Camp Lejeune is noted, but no specific exposure to herbicide agents or other chemicals is confirmed. Additional medical examination is required.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence regarding the nature of the Veteran's exposures during service and thus remanded for further development including obtaining additional medical opinions on the etiology of the disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney disability, heart disability, groin disability (blood clot), skin disability, hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2021
- Citation
- 21070543
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 21070543.
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 skin disability is remanded for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his condition, including whether it is related to service or toxic exposure risk activities. The Veteran also needs to provide authorization forms for private treatment records.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension was granted service connection effective August 10, 2022. The heart disability was granted secondary to the hypertension.,An initial rating of 30% for the heart disability was granted in May 2023 and increased to 60% since October 22, 2024.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of her exposure history and lack of adequate medical opinions. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU rating is granted with an effective date of March 15, 2017.
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