The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus and colon cancer due to potential exposure to herbicide agents during his active naval service. The claim for type II diabetes mellitus is being remanded because the personnel records are incomplete, and a determination needs to be made as whether the ship was within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of Vietnam while the Veteran was aboard. For colon cancer, if exposure to herbicide agents is established, the Veteran should be afforded a VA examination to determine the etiology of his condition.
The deciding factor: The Board has determined that there are insufficient records available to make a determination regarding the Veteran's service connection claims for type II diabetes mellitus and colon cancer due to potential exposure to herbicide agents during his active naval service. The personnel records need to be obtained, and if exposure is confirmed, further examination may be necessary.
- Claimed conditions
- Type II diabetes mellitus, Colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006221
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 Board granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that Type II diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are presumed to have resulted from herbicide exposure during service, contributed substantially to his demise.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's in-service toxic exposure risk activities, including jet fuel and other fuels, to determine if they contributed to his cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and unstable angina and/or coronary artery disease, finding that there was no credible evidence to support a link between these conditions and his military service.
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