The Board remands the claims for service connection for coronary artery disease, hypothyroidism, and dementia secondary to hearing loss due to a need to verify herbicide exposure and obtain an adequate medical opinion.
The deciding factor: A pre-decisional duty to assist error occurred as the AOJ did not attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed exposure to Agent Orange or provide an adequate medical opinion addressing causation and aggravation of dementia by service-connected hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), Hypothyroidism, Dementia secondary to service-connected hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25038179
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
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