The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's esophageal cancer is related to herbicide exposure during active service.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to obtain a medical opinion on the likelihood of a link between the Veteran's esophageal cancer and Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer, adenocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2017
- Citation
- 1702701
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 1702701.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, adenocarcinoma, and hypertension, did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment from June 24, 2024 to June 6, 2025.
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