The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding service connection for the cause of death, including potential exposure to herbicide agents and the relationship between pre-existing cancer disabilities and the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: Insufficient medical evidence was provided to determine if in-service exposure to herbicide agents can be conceded or if any cancers present prior to death were related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the prostate, polycythemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20002639
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 claims for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmias, basal cell carcinoma, kidney stones, and COPD as the AOJ failed to substantially comply with prior remand directives.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for basal cell carcinoma and a higher initial disability rating of 70 percent for other specified trauma-and-stressor-related disorder, while denying increased ratings for lumbosacral strain, right lower radiculopathy, bilateral hearing loss, chronic rhinitis, tension headaches, and mitral valve prolapse.
- Partly granted
The Board granted reconsideration of the issues of entitlement to service connection for basal cell carcinoma, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and bilateral upper and lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The claims for these conditions were previously denied but are now being readjudicated due to new evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability, left knee disability, polycythemia, and bilateral hearing loss as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active duty service.
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