The Board has denied service connection for blood in stool and remanded the issue of service connection for an upper back condition due to lack of evidence of a current disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's reported symptoms of blood in stool do not amount to functional impairment of earning capacity as required by Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018). For the upper back condition, the Board found that a VA examination is needed to determine if there is any current disability and whether it is related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- blood in stool, upper back condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2024
- Citation
- A24035674
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 A24035674.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all issues on appeal before the Board could make a decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches, neck pain, and upper back conditions due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran contends that his current disabilities are related to an in-service injury during a softball game.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to his failure to attend scheduled VA examinations. The Veteran is required to be notified of upcoming examinations and must cooperate with VA in developing these claims.
- Denied
The appeal was dismissed for tinnitus, and service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss, a low back condition, an upper back condition, right ankle, left ankle, right knee, left knee, and bilateral foot conditions.
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