The Veteran's renal cell carcinoma was granted service connection effective August 18, 2017. The Board also found that the Veteran is entitled to an earlier effective date for SMC at the housebound rate.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that imaging of the Veteran's kidney had been abnormal since July 2017 and a biopsy confirmed renal cell carcinoma in February 2019, which was not definitively present on July 2017 images. The Board found it at least as likely as not that the disability manifested prior to August 18, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20019157
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 A20019157.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy is remanded due to a lack of development regarding the relationship between his hypertension and the cancer. The AOJ must obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate physician to determine if the Veteran's hypertension caused or aggravated his renal cell carcinoma.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy has been dismissed because the issue was already validly appealed in a previous docket number.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma is remanded due to the lack of a reasoned medical explanation connecting the facts of his case.
- Denied
The Board has denied the readjudication of service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. The appeal regarding PTSD was withdrawn by the Veteran.
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