The Board has remanded the claims for further development and adjudicative action due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions are needed to address whether the Veteran's current eye disorder is related to service, specifically his exposure to diesel fuel in January 1988. Additionally, a new VA opinion is required for the respiratory disability claim due to conflicting evidence regarding potential asbestos exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- patellar instability and degenerative arthritis of the left knee, chronic dry eyes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 15, 2023
- Citation
- 23009588
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 23009588.
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 remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's chronic dry eyes were aggravated by his service-connected migraine disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for nightmare disorder and dismissed the appeal for chronic dry eyes due to a full grant of benefits.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for cervical radiculitis, degenerative disc disease with broad-based bulging disc at L4-5 with spinal stenosis, and medial epicondylitis of the left and right sides. The claim seeking entitlement to service connection for migraine headaches was dismissed. The claims for chronic dry eyes, plantar fasciitis, and fibromyalgia were remanded.
- Granted
The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and a higher rating for chronic dry eyes, secondary to Bell's palsy, was granted.
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