The Board remands the claims for service connection of various conditions, including peripheral neuropathy and spinal stenosis, due to a need for further development regarding in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to verify the Veteran's reported in-service exposure to herbicide agents and to obtain additional medical opinions addressing the possibility of a nexus between the claimed disabilities and the toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, Aortic stenosis, Bilateral hearing loss, Diabetes mellitus, type II, Diaphragm dysfunction, to include hypoxemia, Hypertension, Kidney disease, Kidney stones, Lupus erythematosus, Myeloma, Primary anemia, Prostate cancer, Sleep apnea, Spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2024
- Citation
- A24064239
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's left shoulder disability and service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, both secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability.
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