The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and prostate cancer are remanded due to uncertainty regarding his exposure to herbicide agents during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
The deciding factor: Further development is needed to determine if the USS Endurance was within 12 nautical miles offshore of the Republic of Vietnam at any time when the Veteran was aboard, as this would affect whether he can be presumed exposed to herbicide agents for purposes of presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II, prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20004987
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 various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, related to in-service exposures at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is granted an effective date of April 25, 2014, for service connection for prostate cancer.
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