The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error and insufficient medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's varicose veins and his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not adequately address the Veteran's specific medical history and contention that the inability to regulate blood pressure caused or aggravated his varicose veins, nor did they provide an opinion on whether the varicose veins are aggravated by his service-connected cardiac disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Varicose veins of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24062096
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 A24062096.
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.
- Granted
Service connection for varicose veins of the bilateral lower extremities is granted. A disability rating of 70 percent, but no higher, for bilateral hearing loss from February 3, 2022 is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher ratings for varicose veins in both right and left lower extremities on an extraschedular basis, finding that the current ratings adequately compensate her disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
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