The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for a thyroid condition, diagnosed as residuals of thyroid adenomatous hyperplasia status-post total thyroidectomy and hypothyroidism, due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The May 2023 VA examiner did not provide a nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's thyroid nodules, which are necessary for adjudication purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- thyroid condition, hypothyroidism, residuals of thyroid adenomatous hyperplasia status-post total thyroidectomy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25034619
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 a deviated septum and denied compensable ratings for allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, hypothyroidism, and hypertension.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism, as it is presumptively linked to herbicide agent exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hypothyroidism and remanded the claim for service connection for lipomas (claimed as cysts surgery).
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism secondary to in-service toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) based on the Veteran's conceded in-service jet fuel fumes exposure.
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