The Board has remanded the case due to a recent court ruling that veterans who served in the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam are entitled to presumptive service connection if they meet other requirements. The Veteran's claim for multiple myeloma is remanded to determine whether he meets these new qualifications.
The deciding factor: The Federal Circuit has expanded the area of presumed herbicide agent exposure to include veterans who served within 12 nautical miles of the shores of Vietnam, and the Board needs to verify if the Veteran's service aboard USS Constellation falls within this expanded area.
- Claimed conditions
- multiple myeloma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000220
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 service connection for multiple myeloma, finding no evidence that the Veteran's condition was related to his military service.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all claims on appeal, and the Board dismissed the appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple myeloma, finding that the Veteran's condition was caused by his conceded in-service toxic risk exposure activities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for multiple myeloma due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not providing the Veteran with a VA examination and medical opinion.
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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.