The Board has remanded the cases of monoclonal gammopathy and polycythemia due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their relationship to herbicide exposure during service. The VA is instructed to obtain additional medical opinions addressing these issues.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to provide updated medical opinions on the etiology of the claimed conditions, specifically in relation to herbicide exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- monoclonal gammopathy, polycythemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2025
- Citation
- 25000766
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (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 25000766.
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 Board dismissed the appeal concerning service connection for monoclonal gammopathy and multiple myeloma due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines (headaches) is granted. The claim for service connection for polycythemia and sleep apnea is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's polycythemia requires phlebotomy six or more times during a 12 month period, and thus an initial evaluation of 60 percent is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for eczema, as secondary to his service-connected polycythemia, needs further examination and opinion. The case is therefore REMANDED.
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