The Veteran's ESRD is being remanded due to multiple pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors, including the need for SSA disability records and private treatment records from Baylor University and FMC Irving Dialysis. An addendum VA medical opinion is also needed regarding the likely etiology of his kidney disease.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional evidence (including SSA disability records and private treatment records) is necessary to properly assess the Veteran's claim, as well as an addendum VA medical opinion addressing the specific theory of entitlement.
- Claimed conditions
- End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2022
- Citation
- A22026115
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 A22026115.
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 the cause of death due to ESRD, which was found to be related to exposure to toxic substances during military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted readjudication of the claims for service connection for hypertension and ESRD, finding that new evidence supports these claims. The Veteran's hypertension is found to have had its onset during active duty, and it is at least as likely as not that his ESRD is secondary to his hypertension.
- Granted
The Veteran's Crohn's disease and ESRD are granted as service connected, with the ESRD being secondary to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's ESRD and his service. The case will be returned for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.
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