The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for lower extremity loss of sensation, herniated disc (cervical radiculopathy), bilateral shoulder condition including degenerative joint disease, bilateral elbow condition including degenerative joint disease, lumbar spine disability, and basal cell carcinoma due to insufficient medical opinions regarding exposure to herbicide agents during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the provided VA opinions did not adequately address the Veteran's claims for service connection based on his in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- lower extremity loss of sensation, herniated disc (cervical radiculopathy), bilateral shoulder condition including degenerative joint disease, bilateral elbow condition including degenerative joint disease, lumbar spine disability, basal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2025
- Citation
- 25001043
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (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 25001043.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's basal cell carcinoma. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which he claims was caused by exposure to water-based contaminants at Camp Lejeune during his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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