The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney disability, thyroid cancer, and a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD due to inadequate medical opinions and failure to obtain VA examinations.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the provided medical opinions were insufficient and did not address both causation and aggravation aspects required by law. Additionally, there was no examination conducted on the Veteran's service-connected PTSD as requested in the January 2025 remand directive.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney stones, renal cyst
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2026
- Citation
- 26000789
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 26000789.
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 Veteran's kidney stones and back disability are granted as service connected. The case is remanded for further development regarding the back disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment for the entire applicable appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's kidney stones, specifically whether they were caused or aggravated by his service-connected bladder cancer.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a dilated aorta as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension, but denied service connection for a renal cyst condition. The denial of the renal cyst claim is due to insufficient evidence linking it to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
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