The Board is unable to determine whether the veteran's death was caused by his service-connected malignant thymoma or if it was related to exposure to Agent Orange. The case has been remanded for further review and clarification.
The deciding factor: There are conflicting opinions regarding whether the veteran's thymoma was more likely than not linked to his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam, which affects the determination of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- malignant thymoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 26, 2006
- Citation
- 0615507
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0615507.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for cause of death and entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation due to a duty to assist error related to toxic exposure risk activities (TERA) participation during service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for malignant thymoma and for an initial compensable rating for baroreflex failure due to outstanding medical records that need to be obtained.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant thymoma, finding that his condition was at least as likely as not related to his in-service exposure to Agent Orange. The decision is based on a medical opinion provided by the Veteran's private cardiothoracic surgeon.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's malignant thymoma is being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for a medical opinion regarding its etiology, including potential herbicide exposure during service.
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