The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for diabetes mellitus and psoriasis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his military service, but VA examinations are needed to determine if these conditions are related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error because the Veteran's exposure to toxic substances (burn pit) and potential medical side effects were not adequately addressed in the record.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, psoriasis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2024
- Citation
- A24069821
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 910 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24069821.
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 service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for heart attack, kidney stones, polycythemia vera, diabetes mellitus type 2, and psoriasis is remanded due to inadequate VA opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
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