The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid, as there is insufficient evidence regarding its cause and whether it was substantially or materially contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a new medical opinion is needed to determine the cause of the Veteran’s death and whether any in-service event, injury, or disease caused or contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20001853
Veterans Law Judge
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 20001853.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid, which is service-connected as it occurred during his active duty and is not related to any exposure to ionizing radiation. The Board granted the claim for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case to obtain clarification of a previous opinion and to provide an updated medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was related to his service, specifically including exposure to non-ionizing radiation from naval radar equipment.
- Denied
The VA denied the veteran's claims for a total compensation rating based on individual unemployability and service connection for anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid due to radiation exposure, as there was insufficient evidence linking the cancer to his active service or radiation exposure.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's death was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange, which contributed to his development of anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid with bilateral lung metastases. The claim is granted.
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