The veteran is seeking compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. � 1151 for metastasis of melanoma to the brain and right lung, as well as a determination of total disability based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The case must be remanded for additional development including obtaining medical records, scheduling examinations, and readjudicating the claims.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim involves determining whether VA's failure to provide adequate surveillance or diagnostic tests caused his metastasis of melanoma to the brain and right lung, as well as assessing his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities. The case requires additional medical evidence and examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- metastasis of melanoma to the brain, right lung
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2008
- Citation
- 0837581
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 0837581.
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 Board has granted service connection for a respiratory disability, specifically a pulmonary nodule in the right lung, finding that it is due to exposure to beryllium dust during military service. The decision resolves all doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Granted
The veteran's service-connected disabilities are severe enough to suggest that he is unable to obtain or retain gainful employment, and the claim for a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability should be referred to the Director, Compensation and Pension Service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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