The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for recurrent hernia disability, deviated nasal septum, left knee disability, right foot disability, and left foot disability are not supported by evidence showing a direct relationship to active service. The cases have been remanded for further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's lay statements do not constitute competent evidence to establish a diagnosis of recurrent hernia or other recurrent disabilities, as these require medical training and diagnostic testing which is beyond the scope of lay observation.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent hernia disability (ventral hernia), recurrent deviated nasal septum, recurrent left knee disability, recurrent right foot disability, recurrent left foot disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2026
- Citation
- A26023091
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 A26023091.
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 remanded the issues of service connection for recurrent right knee disability, recurrent left knee disability, and recurrent urinary disability due to new evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for a recurrent left knee disability, including chronic pain, should be remanded due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional records from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete records from the Veteran's Air Force Reserve and Wisconsin Air National Guard duty.
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