The Veteran's kidney cancer is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is related to his military service, specifically exposure to herbicide agents. The AOJ will also obtain relevant treatment records from Dr. Mark Allen at the Baylor University Hospital in Plano, Texas.
The deciding factor: The examiner must provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's kidney cancer had its onset during or is otherwise related to his military service, including as due to exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 6, 2018
- Citation
- 1820303
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 1820303.
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 decided to remand the claims for service connection for kidney cancer and chronic kidney disease due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ is required to conduct further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a qualified VA examiner regarding the Veteran's exposure to in-service toxic exposures involving fire smoke.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney cancer and lung cancer due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of his kidney cancer, which is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The claim for lung cancer is inextricably intertwined with the kidney cancer claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding secondary service connection for kidney cancer, specifically whether it is aggravated by service-connected hypertension and diabetes. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered with new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining medical opinions and private treatment records.
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