The Veteran's squamous cell skin cancer is being remanded for further examination and opinion regarding its relationship to his military service, specifically exposure to herbicide agents. The Board finds that VA’s duty to assist has been triggered.
The deciding factor: The examiner must determine if the Veteran's squamous cell skin cancer is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents or any other factor.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell skin cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19164982
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 19164982.
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 basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer to obtain a VA opinion and examination, as required by the PACT Act due to the Veteran's participation in a toxic exposure risk activity during service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for squamous cell skin cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, tuberculosis, hematuria, hypercholesterolemia, and vitamin deficiency. However, the Board granted service connection for a right knee disorder, left knee disorder, and plantar fasciitis.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's request for higher-level review was timely submitted within one year of the notification of his rating decision. As a result, the appeal is considered valid and the issues regarding service connection are now before the Board.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's squamous and basal cell skin cancer is being remanded for further examination to determine if it is related to his active service, including herbicide agent exposure. The issue of whether the skin cancer resulted from excessive sun exposure without protection during service will also be addressed.
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