The Board has remanded the cases due to insufficient opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's lung, spine and femur cancers. The cases are also remanded for consideration of TDIU as they are inextricably intertwined with the service connection issues.
The deciding factor: The VA opinion is inadequate on its face and does not fully address the issues of secondary service connection or the impact of changing to vaporless cigarettes after service.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer, femur tumor, spine cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19136262
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 granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, including lung cancer and cardio-pulmonary arrest, to address in-service toxic exposures.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.