The Board has determined that a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's gallbladder cancer and metastatic cholangiocarcinoma are related to his service, specifically presumed exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange) in Thailand.
The deciding factor: The opinions provided by private physicians indicate a possible association between the Veteran's gallbladder cancer and Agent Orange exposure. A VA medical opinion is needed to determine if this relationship exists.
- Claimed conditions
- gallbladder cancer, metastatic cholangiocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 23, 2016
- Citation
- 1637471
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 1637471.
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 cause of death, gallbladder cancer, is not service-connected as there is no evidence linking the condition to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA did not fully develop the claim for all of the Veteran's possible participation in TERA, including unrecorded trips to countries neighboring Vietnam and service with Republic of Korea forces by Navy personnel involved in the Poseidon program. The case is being remanded to obtain this information.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as metastatic cholangiocarcinoma was not shown to be related to his active service.
- Denied
The Board denied payment or reimbursement for non-VA medical care for cancer and hepatic steatosis as a Camp Lejeune family member due to the clinical finding that these conditions did not result from exposure at Camp Lejeune.
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