The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for kidney removal and thyroid removal as secondary to herbicide exposure due to potential discrepancies in medical opinions and diagnoses.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's rationale was based on presumptive conditions under 3.309(e), which may not be applicable given the Veteran’s specific diagnoses.
- Claimed conditions
- kidney removal, thyroid removal
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183352
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 increased ratings for kidney cancer, kidney removal, painful periumbilical scar status post partial nephrectomy, and surgical scars status post partial nephrectomy. The effective date of service connection was granted as May 13, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for kidney cancer, kidney removal, and scarring status post kidney removal due to insufficient evidence and the need for a VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial disability rating greater than 30 percent for kidney removal and denied an earlier effective date prior to August 18, 2020, for the grant of service connection for kidney removal.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, while remanding the claims for coronary artery disease (CAD), prostate cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, cataracts, and thyroid removal due to a duty to assist error.
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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.