The Veteran's hypertension is presumed to have been caused by exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam, but a medical opinion is needed to determine if it was aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.,A VA medical opinion is needed to determine whether the Veteran's bladder tumors and urothelial carcinoma are related to his active duty service, including presumed exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. The examiner should also consider the Veteran’s 1960 and 1966 in-service treatment for urethritis and gonorrhea.,The Veteran's parotid tumor excision scar is not entitled to a compensable initial rating as it does not meet the criteria for disfigurement or instability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a VA medical opinion was needed to address whether the Veteran’s hypertension and bladder tumors were related to his service in Vietnam, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- Parotid tumor excision scar, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Bladder tumors
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19196947
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 19196947.
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
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