The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his claimed disorders and their relationship to in-service exposures.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence has been received, including general medical literature and alternate theories of entitlement, which raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the Veteran’s claims. However, further examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to his alleged in-service exposures, particularly considering new information about other hazardous chemicals.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory disorder, renal cell carcinoma of the right kidney, liver lesions, thyroid gland disorder, pituitary tumor, kidney lesions
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178360
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 19178360.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for Cushing's disease and pituitary tumor, finding that the evidence does not support a causal relationship to military service. The Veteran's conditions are attributed to her own diagnosis rather than exposure to toxic substances during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection must be remanded due to inadequate examinations and opinions. The Veteran's skin disorder, respiratory disorder, Crohn's disease, eye disorder, and migraines are all being reviewed again with new medical evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory disorder, including COPD and emphysema, is being remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The Board finds that the evidence submitted tends to disprove a link between his current condition and active service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a respiratory disorder is dismissed. Service connection for right hand palmar nodule and service connection for a right hand scar are granted, but the issue of service connection for a right hand disorder other than service-connected right hand palmar nodule is remanded.
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