The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's systemic lupus erythematosus and his service, including exposure to turbine engine fumes and in-service treatment for various illnesses.
The deciding factor: The April 2021 VA examination did not substantially comply with the April 2020 remand directives as it did not explain why the Veteran's lupus was not related either to his in-service treatment or his exposure to fumes.
- Claimed conditions
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2022
- Citation
- 22000031
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 291 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 22000031.
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 granted service connection for systemic lupus erythematosus, finding that the Veteran's symptoms during and after service are consistent with the diagnosis of SLE.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for systemic lupus erythematosus (claimed as lupus).,The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that it was related to in-service symptoms indicating kidney disease caused by systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome as proximately due to service connected systemic lupus erythematosus, and fibromyalgia as proximately due to service connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Board also granted restoration of a 30 percent disability rating for temporomandibular joint disorder.
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