The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's metastatic lung cancer could have started during service. The examiner is requested to provide an adequate opinion on this matter.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether cancer could have begun during service, as it was diagnosed within 20 years and was very advanced.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19192337
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 19192337.
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 remands the service connection claims for various cancers and eye conditions due to an alleged failure to properly investigate toxic exposures during service, including at Fort Wainwright.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain additional evidence and a medical opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's metastatic lung cancer, brain cancer metastasis, and bone cancer metastasis were rated as 100% disabling effective April 19, 2017. The Board granted an earlier effective date of April 19, 2017 for the grant of special monthly compensation (SMC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(p) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(f)(4) at the rate equal to 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m).
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was due to metastatic lung cancer, which the Board found not attributable to service-connected conditions. The examiner opined that his lung cancer was not related to active service exposure.
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