The Board has determined that a VA examination and medical opinion for neurological disorders of the upper and lower extremities on a direct basis, to include consideration of the Veteran's presumed in-service exposure to environmental hazards during his period of service in the Persian Gulf War, should have been provided prior to the July 2019 VA rating decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a duty to assist error due to the omission of a VA examination and medical opinion for neurological disorders of the upper and lower extremities on a direct basis, considering the Veteran's presumed in-service exposure to environmental hazards during his period of service in the Persian Gulf War.
- Claimed conditions
- neurological disorder of the right upper extremity, neurological disorder of the left upper extremity, neurological disorder of the right lower extremity, neurological disorder of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2023
- Citation
- A23036491
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 A23036491.
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 has denied service connection for neurological disorders of the right upper, left lower, and right lower extremities as there is no evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current neurological disorder of the right lower extremity, and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied as it is not secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral strain.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a neurological disorder of the left lower extremity to obtain additional evidence and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Partly granted
The veteran is granted a 10 percent rating for tension headaches from April 13, 2022 to May 26, 2022. The claim for a higher rating and other service connection issues are remanded or denied.
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