The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a kidney disability due to a duty to assist error, as no VA examination was conducted prior to the March 2022 rating decision.
The deciding factor: Remand is required to obtain an examination regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's kidney disability, including whether it is related to service or toxic exposures during service along the Korean DMZ.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25043964
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 various disabilities, including abnormal weight loss, a bladder disability, blockage of the neck arteries, and others. The evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an eye disability and a kidney disability, as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for allergic rhinitis and remanded the other claims for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a kidney disability, as there was no evidence of a current disability. The claims for cervical radiculopathy, left hip strain, and right hip strain were remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.
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