The Board has remanded the claims for prostate and kidney disabilities due to herbicide exposure, as well as their relationship to service-connected diabetes mellitus type II. The VA medical opinions provided were inadequate and need to be supplemented with a new opinion addressing these issues.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions did not provide sufficient rationale regarding whether the Veteran's disabilities are related to his in-service herbicide exposure or secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Claimed conditions
- Prostate Disability, Kidney Disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2021
- Citation
- 21074926
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 21074926.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for erectile dysfunction as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II, but denied service connection for a bilateral hip disability. The other issues related to the bilateral eye condition, prostate disability, and hypertension were remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's bone cancer, back disability, and kidney disability were not caused by or became worse as a result of VA treatment.,VA medical personnel did not cause the Veteran's additional disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection of various conditions have been remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions. The Board found that a higher rating is warranted for bilateral hearing loss, but denied earlier effective dates for service connection of tinnitus and BHL.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for TBI, GERD, headaches, and kidney disability due to a lack of current diagnoses or causal relationship between these conditions and service. The Board found that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of a TBI, his GERD was diagnosed 12 years after separation from service, and his kidney disability was diagnosed 30 years after separation from service.
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