The Board has determined that additional medical examination is necessary to adjudicate the claims for service connection of nicotine addiction and carcinoma of the tongue. The case is REMANDED for further development.
The deciding factor: Medical examination is necessary at this point to determine whether appellant currently has a carcinoma and the etiology of that carcinoma (particularly whether the carcinoma, if any, is consequent to Agent Orange exposure, by smoking or other activity during service, or to continued smoking after discharge from service).
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of the tongue, nicotine addiction
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2005
- Citation
- 0500970
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 0500970.
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 appeal concerning the issues of COPD and nicotine addiction is dismissed. The Veteran's service connection for COPD was granted, but the appeal for nicotine addiction is denied as it is not a compensable disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for carcinoma of the tongue is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The VA must obtain and associate with the claims file any outstanding private treatment records from Dr. Tijani or his oncologist, and request a medical opinion regarding whether the cancer had its clinical onset during active-duty service or is otherwise etiologically related to it, including exposure to an herbicide agent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for carcinoma of the tongue, finding that a VA medical opinion is needed to address the etiology of his condition and considering whether it is at least as likely as not attributable to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination regarding the Veteran's oropharyngeal cancer and exposure to burn pits. The claim will be reviewed again with a new opinion.
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