The Veteran's claims for diabetes and a skin disability are remanded due to the need for further development regarding his exposure to herbicide agents during service in Korea.
The deciding factor: There is no established presumption of herbicide agent exposure based on service in or near the Korean DMZ, but service connection remains available on a direct basis. The AOJ did not attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed exposure and must do so as part of the PACT Act.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type 2, skin disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2026
- Citation
- A26011453
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 A26011453.
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 skin disability is remanded for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his condition, including whether it is related to service or toxic exposure risk activities. The Veteran also needs to provide authorization forms for private treatment records.
- Denied
The Board has vacated the January 2026 decision granting service connection for diabetes mellitus, type 2 due to fraudulent evidence. The Veteran's claim is denied as there is no credible evidence linking his diabetes to service or a service-connected condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for tinnitus and an acquired psychiatric disability were dismissed due to improper concurrent elections.,The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of back, sciatic nerve, right shoulder, foot, skin, left-hand, or right-hand disabilities. The claim for headaches was also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding the Veteran's skin disability and its relation to his service-connected liver transplant.
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