The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for further development due to inadequate medical opinions regarding his service connection for renal cell carcinoma and its relationship to diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a thorough explanation of whether the Veteran’s kidney condition was caused by or related to his military service, including exposure to Agent Orange, or if it was aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal Cell Carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19162312
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 19162312.
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 renal cell carcinoma is found to be at least as likely as not related to his service exposure to ionizing radiation, and the claim for service connection is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for renal cell carcinoma and secondary service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence linking his current condition to his military service or exposure to herbicides.
- Denied
The Veteran's renal cell carcinoma was not incurred or aggravated during active service, and the Board found no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and any in-service exposure to asbestos, hydraulic fluid, PCBs, or benzene.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD has been granted an initial rating of 70 percent, effective October 12, 2012. A TDIU is also granted from that date. The case is remanded for further development regarding service connection for renal cell carcinoma.
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