The Board has ordered a VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's hypertension, which was denied due to lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives. The case is being remanded again for further evaluation and opinions on whether the Veteran's hypertension is related to his presumed herbicide exposure in service and if it is aggravated by his service-connected bladder cancer.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the relevant findings from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study regarding the association between herbicide exposure and hypertension, nor did they provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's hypertension was aggravated by his service-connected bladder cancer and/or medications.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2022
- Citation
- 22003702
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 22003702.
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 Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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