The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral thyroid tumor with removal residuals and lower left lung cancer are remanded due to the need for additional development regarding radiation exposure.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show that the Veteran is a 'radiation-exposed veteran' as defined by VA regulations, but his claim cannot be denied based on this alone. The case must be referred to the Under Secretary for Benefits for review of whether sound scientific medical evidence supports the conclusion that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's lung cancer resulted from radiation exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral thyroid tumor with removal residuals, lower left lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- A19000864
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000864.
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.
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- Granted
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
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