The Board has decided that further development is necessary to determine if the Veteran's kidney cancer, which required a nephrectomy of the right kidney in May 2016, was caused by exposure to herbicide agents during active service in Vietnam. The claim is remanded for additional examination and development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while there is no positive association between exposure to herbicides and kidney cancer, further development is necessary due to the specific request for an addendum opinion regarding presumptive service connection.
- 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
- June 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19143430
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 remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to obtain a new medical opinion due to errors in previous examinations.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for kidney cancer, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for kidney cancer was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for kidney cancer on a direct basis, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's kidney cancer and his military service or presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
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