The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to deficiencies in the medical opinions obtained. The Veteran's exposure to fine particulate matter from burn pits during his service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations is presumed.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions are needed regarding the etiology of the Veteran's sleep disability, diabetes mellitus, and neurological disabilities, considering his exposure to toxic risk activities during service.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep disability, type II diabetes mellitus, neurological disability of the bilateral upper extremities, neurological disability of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23048413
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 23048413.
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 a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to provide proper notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing on his supplemental claim, as required by VA regulations.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeals for the service connection of multiple conditions, including low back disability, bilateral foot disability, cervical spine disability, migraines, right hand and shoulder disabilities, right wrist disability, asthma (claimed as Gulf War Syndrome), chronic fatigue syndrome, dysmenorrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and sleep disability. As a result, these claims are dismissed.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.,Given the grant of TDIU based on his service-connected PTSD, the Veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as total (PTSD) and additional service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more.
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