The Board remands the claim for service connection of diabetes mellitus type II to obtain an opinion on whether the Veteran's obesity, which may be related to his service-connected disabilities, is a substantial factor in causing his diabetes and whether it was aggravated by those conditions.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty to assist error occurred as VA did not request opinions addressing aggravation of obesity or its role as an intermediate step between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and diabetes mellitus type II.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes mellitus type II
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25035805
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 diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the petitions to reopen claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and a right wrist condition due to the withdrawal of the appeals by the Veteran's attorney.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, finding no evidence that the Veteran's diabetes resulted from her active military service or was caused by her service-connected hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for persistent depressive disorder and diabetes mellitus type II, granted an increased rating of 10 percent for hypertension, and granted an increased rating of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss. The Board also remanded service connection for cardiac arrhythmia.
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