The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining a medical opinion regarding the relationship between his oral cancers and service exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The case requires further examination to determine if any of the Veteran's oral cavity cancers are as likely as not proximately due to service, specifically herbicide exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, early squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of mouth
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 3, 2014
- Citation
- 1424849
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 1424849.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for clarification on whether the Veteran's lung cancer is primary or metastatic from his oral cavity, and if it is metastatic, to determine its etiology related to in-service herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with the exception of a throat disability related to cancer surgery. The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether his squamous cell carcinoma and other conditions are related to exposure to chemicals at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for an opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, specifically whether his service-connected conditions contributed to his cancer and ultimately caused his death.
- Granted
The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity is found to be related to his exposure to herbicides in service, and thus service connection is granted.
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