The Board remands the claim for service connection of benign prostate hyperplasia to obtain additional medical opinions regarding its potential secondary causation by the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The March 2024 VA medical opinions were found inadequate due to not meeting the 'but for' standard applicable to secondary service connection as set forth in Spicer, 61 F.4th at 1365, and the November 2024 VA opinion regarding herbicide exposure was also deemed inadequate.
- Claimed conditions
- benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2025
- Citation
- 25004597
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 benign prostate hyperplasia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and irritable bowel syndrome as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and an initial disability rating of 10 percent for hypertension, but denied service connection for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and remanded claims for a skin condition and bilateral upper extremity neurological conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including PTSD with a rating of 70%, and remanded others.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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