The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete verification of the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Korea. The VA is required to verify this exposure and provide a new psychiatric examination to determine if any current psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder, are related to his service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the RO failed to comply with the April 2019 remand directives regarding verification of Agent Orange exposure and obtaining a new VA psychological examination.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2023
- Citation
- 23004920
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 23004920.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Veteran's Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular Aid and Attendance is granted as of April 25, 2024.,For diabetes mellitus, a rating in excess of 20 percent is denied.
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