The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and for Dependent’s Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits due to ambiguity in the record regarding the nature of the Veteran's cancer diagnosis.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for a new VA medical opinion to resolve the ambiguity in the record as to whether the Veteran had renal cell or transitional cell cancer, and its relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal cell cancer, Transitional cell cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19180403
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 denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to renal cell cancer, finding no evidence that it was related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for sarcoidosis as new and relevant evidence has been received since the previous denial.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a left-hand condition is dismissed as the Veteran was granted service connection for mononeuropathy to the left hand fourth finger with parasthesia of skin in an October 2025 rating decision.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.