The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate duty-to-assist and medical opinions, requiring further investigation into the Veteran's asbestos exposure during service and its relation to his current lung cancer.
The deciding factor: The VA failed in its duty to assist by not obtaining the Veteran’s records from 1987 and the medical opinion was found to be insufficient due to a contradiction with previous findings.
- Claimed conditions
- right lung cancer, right lung removal
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20026065
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 20026065.
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 a recurrent respiratory disability to include right lung cancer, claimed as the result of herbicide agent exposure.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of depression and anxiety due to lung cancer was denied. The claims for a higher rating for lung cancer and service connection for COPD were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, a penile disorder, diabetes mellitus type II, and TMJ dysfunction. The appeals are remanded for additional development regarding COPD, right lung removal, and a headache disorder.,SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ is denied as there is no service-connected disability related to the Veteran's condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for a new medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's esophageal cancer, right lung cancer and right lung lobectomy, and left lung mass are related to service exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune.
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