The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus type I and rheumatoid arthritis of multiple joints, as well as Hashimoto's thyroiditis and diabetic retinopathy, due to inadequate medical opinions regarding their relationship to in-service toxic exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were found inadequate because they did not consider the Veteran's contentions about toxic exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes mellitus type I, Rheumatoid arthritis - right elbow, Rheumatoid arthritis - right hand, Rheumatoid arthritis - left knee, Rheumatoid arthritis - right ankle, Rheumatoid arthritis - left foot, Rheumatoid arthritis - left elbow, Rheumatoid arthritis - right foot, Rheumatoid arthritis - right knee, Rheumatoid arthritis - left ankle, Rheumatoid arthritis - left hand, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Diabetic retinopathy as secondary to diabetes mellitus type I
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25088871
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 696 · Granted: 63% (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 A25088871.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus was dismissed. The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis with complications, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, vitamin deficiencies, memory/cognitive impairment, unexplained arthralgias, fatigue, hair loss, and bradycardia.
- Granted
The Board has restored service connection for hypothyroidism, which was previously severed due to a finding of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the original grant. The evidence supports that the Veteran's hypothyroidism is related to his exposure to Agent Orange during military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for service connection for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, to include hypothyroidism (claimed as Hashimoto's disease and thyroid condition) was granted in a June 2025 rating decision. The appeal is dismissed as moot since the issue has been resolved.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, cervical spine disorders, radiculopathies of the upper and lower extremities, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, COPD, GERD, gastroparesis, diverticulosis, rhinitis, OSA, left ankle disorder, and left foot disorder have been granted. The claims are based on presumptive service connection due to exposure to noise during service.
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