The Board remands the claim for service connection for an intestinal condition, to include bowel incontinence, due to an inadequate VA examination and medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The August 2023 VA medical opinion was found inadequate as it did not address the history of chronic constipation or any potential relationship between the currently claimed intestinal condition and in-service constipation.
- Claimed conditions
- bowel incontinence, chronic constipation, chronic diarrhea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25026719
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 remands the claims for service connection for chronic diarrhea, headaches, and neck pain for initial adjudication on the merits by the AOJ.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support a finding of a causal relationship between the claimed conditions and active duty service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic diarrhea, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Dismissed
The appeals for a compensable evaluation for bladder incontinence and bowel incontinence have been withdrawn and dismissed.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.