The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for asthma and melanoma with scar, both of which are presumed to be related to in-service herbicide exposure. The VA examiners' opinions were deemed inadequate due to lack of a clear nexus between service and these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not provide sufficient rationale or opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's asthma and melanoma with scar, both presumed to be related to in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Asthma, Melanoma with scar
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007622
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 20007622.
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 Veteran's asthma is currently rated as 10 percent disabling, and the Board finds that this rating adequately compensates his service-connected condition.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, asthma, and foot conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history throughout the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand several cases related to the Veteran's PTSD, asthma, and other conditions. The issues include increased disability ratings for PTSD and asthma, as well as effective date determinations.
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