The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including chloracne, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, major depressive disorder, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and a kidney disability, to obtain further development in accordance with the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act of 2022 (PACT Act).
The deciding factor: The Board finds that there is evidence of exposure to DDT and chlordane during the veteran's service at Fort Davis, Panama, and a need for a medical opinion addressing the possibility of a nexus between the claimed disabilities and this exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- chloracne, diabetes, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, major depressive disorder, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, kidney disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 16, 2025
- Citation
- 25009303
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.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
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