The Board has determined that additional development is necessary before the underlying claim for service connection can be adjudicated on the merits. This includes obtaining deck logs from U.S.S. YARNELL, attempting to obtain medical records from PERS, and scheduling a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the right tongue was incurred in or aggravated by service, including exposure to lead, asbestos, or ionizing radiation.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the right tongue
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2014
- Citation
- 1406921
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 1406921.
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 Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for cancer of the lymph nodes of the neck and squamous cell carcinoma of the right tongue.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsil and right tongue are granted as new and material evidence has been submitted. The cases are remanded to further develop the medical records needed to determine if HPV was present in the cancerous tissue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the right tongue is being remanded for a new VA examination to determine if it is at least as likely as not related to his active military service, including herbicide exposure. The presumption of service connection does not apply due to lack of soft tissue sarcoma.
- 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.
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