The veteran seeks service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, which he contends to be related to his exposure to herbicides during his period of service in Vietnam. The RO should assist the veteran in obtaining an examination report from March 2002 and associate it with the claims file.
The deciding factor: The claim is remanded for further development under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA).
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2003
- Citation
- 0335966
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 0335966.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's lymphoma and scar have been granted effective dates of August 23, 2018. The Veteran is service-connected for his lymphoma with an initial noncompensable rating, and the RO has not assigned a compensable rating for his scar.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for malignant neoplasm of lymph nodes of the head, face, neck and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death is being remanded due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding whether his cause of death, ischemic heart disease and hypertension, are service-connected. Additionally, the burial benefits claim is inextricably intertwined with these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for an opinion regarding the causal relationship between the Veteran's cancers and his herbicide agent exposure in service, as well as the cause of death.
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