The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate examination report, and requests a new opinion from a VA physician regarding whether the Veteran's malignant thymoma is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange).
The deciding factor: The examiner was asked to consider an April 2009 surgical pathology report indicating Agent Orange exposure and an October 2014 opinion from Dr. Sommers, but failed to address these pieces of evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- malignant thymoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18114988
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 18114988.
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 remanded the claims of service connection for cause of death and entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation due to a duty to assist error related to toxic exposure risk activities (TERA) participation during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for malignant thymoma and for an initial compensable rating for baroreflex failure due to outstanding medical records that need to be obtained.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant thymoma, finding that his condition was at least as likely as not related to his in-service exposure to Agent Orange. The decision is based on a medical opinion provided by the Veteran's private cardiothoracic surgeon.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's malignant thymoma is being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for a medical opinion regarding its etiology, including potential herbicide exposure during service.
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