The Board remanded the veteran's claims for service connection of peripheral neuropathy in all four extremities. The VA must obtain medical examinations and opinions to assess the nature and etiology of the claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board remanded because the AOJ did not provide examinations or obtain medical opinions prior to the rating decision on appeal, and the PACT Act requires such actions for veterans exposed to toxic substances during service.
- Claimed conditions
- peripheral neuropathy left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy right upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy left lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25003930
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25003930.
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 has identified errors in the duty to assist and remands the claims for further development, including obtaining private medical records and researching whether the Veteran's service on USS NEOSHO exposed him to herbicides.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for further development regarding his exposure at Fort McClellan, including toxic exposures. The Board will consider all evidence and determine if there is a nexus between the claimed conditions and these exposures.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), erectile dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy in both upper and lower extremities, hypothyroidism, and dermatitis (claimed as chloracne) based on the Veteran's presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of August 10, 2022, for the awards of service connection for peripheral neuropathy in all extremities but denied an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus and a higher rating for diabetes.
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