The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's colon cancer is related to his active service or events therein, particularly Agent Orange exposure and/or exposure to chemicals in the course of his duties as a naval aviator.
The deciding factor: The need for a VA medical opinion arises due to the speculative nature of some submitted opinions and the requirement to establish service connection on a direct basis given the Veteran's active duty service and potential inservice Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186829
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a lung disability and a bilateral foot disability based on new evidence, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and colon cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for colon cancer and individual unemployability (TDIU) due to a duty to assist error, requiring further development of evidence related to toxic exposure activities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to ensure all reasonably raised theories of entitlement are developed, specifically regarding a direct service connection theory based on complaints in the Veteran's service treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, colon cancer, arthritis, a respiratory disability (asthma/COPD), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to insufficient evidence of current disabilities or links to service.
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