The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion on whether the veteran's malignant melanoma of the left heel is attributable to his military service, including presumed herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: An additional medical opinion is required as part of the duty to assist because Dr. M's opinion does not provide sufficient evidence for the Board to make a decision on the claim but indicates that the veteran's current disability may be associated with service.
- Claimed conditions
- malignant melanoma of the left heel, fungus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2008
- Citation
- 0815235
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · Granted: 24% (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 0815235.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinea cruris, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability related to active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions and their relationship to his service.
- Granted
The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for jungle rot, skin rash, and fungus is granted. The Board has also remanded the issue due to a need for additional development.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for chronic venous insufficiency and respiratory insufficiency, chronic. The remaining issues of service connection for hemorrhoids, fungus, stasis ulcer, right leg, morbid obesity, arterial hypertension, and peripheral vascular disease are remanded.
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