The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for hypertension due to potential exposure to burn pits and other toxins during military service, including while performing duties that earned him the Driver and Mechanic Badge. The PACT Act requires a TERA examination to determine if there is a nexus between the Veteran's hypertension and his toxic exposures.
The deciding factor: The PACT Act mandates a TERA examination for covered veterans who have submitted claims with evidence of toxic exposure risk activities during active military service, including burn pit exposure in Afghanistan and Kuwait. The examination must consider all applicable deployments and potential synergistic effects of multiple exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2023
- Citation
- 23038074
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 23038074.
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 the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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