The Veteran's surviving spouse is seeking service connection for various disorders, including heart disorder, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, kidney disorder, male reproductive organ disorder, and artery and vein disorder of all extremities. The claims are remanded due to the VA's failure to conduct additional follow-up on a previous request for records regarding herbicide/pesticide exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to conduct further follow-up with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as not requesting any documentation from the U.S. EPA, which is required by previous remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disorder, ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, kidney disorder, male reproductive organ disorder, artery and vein disorder of all extremities
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2023
- Citation
- 23014299
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 23014299.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- 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.
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