The Board is requesting a medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma, was related to his presumed exposure to herbicides in Vietnam or to in-service treatment for kidney issues. The case will be remanded for further action.
The deciding factor: A medical opinion is needed to assess whether there is any relationship between the Veteran's cause of death and service connection for the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2016
- Citation
- 1635856
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1635856.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was due to metastatic sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma, which the VA medical opinion found is not related to his military service or presumed exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran did not have service in the Republic of Vietnam and was not otherwise exposed to Agent Orange, and his renal cell carcinoma was not related to service in any other way. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Granted
Service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is granted. The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction is dismissed.
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