The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a head injury with headaches due to new and material evidence. The claims for liver (hepatocellular) cancer and kidney cancer are remanded as there is insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.
The deciding factor: New evidence was received that pertains to an unestablished fact needed to substantiate the claim, specifically a causal nexus with service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a head injury with headaches, liver (hepatocellular) cancer, kidney cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19180047
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19180047.
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 has decided to remand the claims for service connection for kidney cancer and chronic kidney disease due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ is required to conduct further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a qualified VA examiner regarding the Veteran's exposure to in-service toxic exposures involving fire smoke.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney cancer and lung cancer due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of his kidney cancer, which is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The claim for lung cancer is inextricably intertwined with the kidney cancer claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding secondary service connection for kidney cancer, specifically whether it is aggravated by service-connected hypertension and diabetes. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered with new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining medical opinions and private treatment records.
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