The Veteran's claim for service connection for respiratory cancer is being remanded due to the submission of new evidence that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim. The Board will seek an addendum opinion regarding the Veteran's assertion of exposure to toxic water at Camp Lejeune and review the military personnel records to confirm the length of time he was stationed there.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been submitted raising a reasonable possibility of service connection for respiratory cancer, including potential exposure to toxic water at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory cancer, cancer, lymph nodes, larynx; cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19196221
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 19196221.
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 has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tonsillar cancer (claimed as throat and respiratory cancer) due to a lack of evidence showing that his condition began during active service or is related to an in-service injury or disease, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for respiratory cancer as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected throat cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for new VA medical opinions to address the etiology of the Veteran's respiratory cancer and skin cancer, as well as further development regarding potential exposures in service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a respiratory cancer of any type, lymphoma, and sarcoidosis as the evidence did not demonstrate current diagnoses or a nexus to active duty.
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