The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for esophageal cancer and its residuals due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of his condition. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional pertinent evidence, including a statement from Dr. Staveley-O'Connor, and arrange for an addendum VA medical opinion.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that an addendum VA medical opinion is necessary to address whether the Veteran's esophageal cancer and its residuals are etiologically related to exposure to herbicide in Vietnam and/or exposure to VOCs in drinking water at Camp Lejeune during his service.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2016
- Citation
- 1607292
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 1607292.
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 the cause of death due to esophageal cancer, which is presumed to be related to exposure to herbicide agents during service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's prostate disability. The claims for esophageal cancer and Barrett's esophagus remain denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ committed pre-decisional duty to notify and duty to assist errors in denying the DIC claim for the cause of the Veteran's death. The claim must be remanded to allow the AOJ to make a finding regarding whether the Appellant is considered the surviving spouse, as this is a threshold requirement for DIC benefits.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for esophageal cancer, finding that the Veteran's presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service near the Korean DMZ more likely than not contributed to the development of the condition.
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