The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for gastrointestinal disability, memory loss (to include psychiatric disability), skin disability, and bilateral eye disability as secondary to service-connected hypothyroidism due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: VA did not obtain relevant private treatment records from Dr. Koreshi or specific audiometry test results during the January 2025 VA audiological evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal disability, disability manifested by memory loss (to include psychiatric disability), skin disability, bilateral eye disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 10, 2026
- Citation
- A26021498
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 A26021498.
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.
- 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 a duty-to-assist error, specifically failing to obtain an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability is related to service exposure to burn pits. The AOJ should obtain such an opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for a bilateral eye disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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