The Board has remanded the cases due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, caused or aggravated his thyroid cancer. The lung disorder case is also being remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the thyroid cancer case.
The deciding factor: The opinion on secondary service connection is needed to determine if the service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, caused or aggravated the thyroid cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- Thyroid cancer, Lung disorder (including thyroid cancer metastases into the lung)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19108615
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19108615.
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 Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date (EED) for service connection of thyroid cancer is granted, with the EED set at September 13, 2018.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for thyroid cancer with hypothyroidism was granted, and the effective date is set at March 12, 2019.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's thyroid cancer is not related to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to provide a VA examination and opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's thyroid cancer and his in-service exposure to ionizing radiation. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition as secondary to his military service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.