The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an addendum from the VA examiner who examined the Veteran in August 2009, providing rationale and support for their opinions regarding the diagnosis, date of onset, and etiology of any skin cancer found to be present. The examiner was asked to state whether it is at least as likely as not that any current or previously diagnosed skin cancer had its onset during active service or is related to any in-service disease or injury, including from herbicide exposure or other toxins.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to provide an opinion with supporting rationale as to whether the Veteran's skin cancer was caused by service, including herbicide exposure or other toxins.
- Claimed conditions
- skin cancer, actinic keratosis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2011
- Citation
- 1133050
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 1133050.
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 Veteran's service connection claims for skin cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions, and the evidence does not support a causal relationship to active military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation and service connection was denied due to a late filing of the Board Appeal request.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for actinic keratosis, finding that his condition had its onset during active duty and is related to exposure to harmful sun while deployed in Afghanistan.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis as the appeal is considered duplicative of a previous decision.
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